Imperial prince Anakin Fell
by 4gardiean
Summary: Trouble in the galactic empire. To keep his young son safe emperor Fel sends him into hiding accompanied by one of his friends and fellow knight. Send into the past to the time of the galactic republic, the knight is forced to take on the role of mother. They live through the Clone Wars and return home after the rise of the galactic empire. On hold
1. Chapter 1

**118 ABY**

A seven year old girl with brown eyes and brown hair with white streaks sits on a chair next to a seventy year old man with brown eyes and white hair. Both have fair skin and wear rich clothing. The girl is working with the older man on her homework on which she can barely focus. Her mother is giving birth to her new sibling and she can't wait to meet them.

"Grandpa, when will my new sibling be born?" the girl asks excited while looking to her right where her grandfather is sitting next to her. The girl hopes that she will get a baby sister as she finds it nicer to play with girls than with boys. As she learned from experience boys prefer to play different games than girls do.

"I don't know when your new sibling will be born, Siah. We will have to wait until we are told that your new sibling is born" the man tells the girl now identified as Siah. To keep her mind of the impending birth of her new sibling and to get her attention back to her homework the man says "Let's finish your homework and then we can play a game while waiting for news on when we can meet your new sibling"

Fifteen minutes later the homework is finished and Siah looks expectantly up at her grandfather. Laughing he says

"Go ahead, Sia. Chose a game for us to play from the dresser"

Siah runs happily to the dresser which stands on the left side of the office. Looking over the games Siah can't chose between two of the games available so she takes them both out of the dresser. Walking back to her grandfather's desk she places both games on it.

"Grandpa, you choose which of these two games we will play. I can't chose because I like them both" Siah says while looking expectantly at her grandfather.

"Alright. Let's see. Mhhh" Siah's grandfather carefully looks over the games she brought with her. After a few minutes he point to the left game and says

"We will play this game"

"Grandpa, you are funny" Siah says laughingly while taking the other game back to the dresser to put it away. She could tell from his first reaction that he was playing with her. She likes it that he wants to play with her even if he has a lot of duties as an emperor which he has to see to. After putting the game back in the dresser she walks back to the desk. Once there she sits back on the chair she sat at previously and they spend the next hours playing until a woman wearing crimson and black armor enters the room. The woman has brown eyes, brown hair and a fair skin.

"My lord, princess Elliah has given birth to a boy. The prince asked for you and princess Marasiah to come meet the prince" the knight says and princess Marasiah gets out of her chair quickly only to be halted by her grandfather.

"Not so fast, Siah. First we clear our game away and then we will go meet your new baby brother. He won't get away Sia, if we first clean our game away" Marasiah's grandfather says and Marasiah cleans the game away sulking. She wants to meet her new baby brother and can't wait. She is a bit sad that she didn't get a baby sister but is more than happy with her baby brother. She still plant to play with him when he is older. Both her parents and her grandfather had told her before that she has to wait some time before she can play with her baby sibling.

When she has finished cleaning the game away her grandfather holds out his hand to her and she quickly takes it. The woman who informed them has been waiting outside the office for them to exit and leads them together with another man in similar clothing to the room princess Elliah is residing in.

"Shmi, what can you tell me about my new grandson" Marasiah's grandfather asks the woman.

"Not much, my lord. Prince Roan requested of me not to tell you much as he wants to tell you himself. All I can tell you is that your grandson is strong in the force. At the time I came to get you the medics were checking his health. From what I could tell he appeared to be healthy" Shmi answers and they soon arrive at their destination. Outside of the room two men in similar clothing guarding the room. Before the door Skywalker says

"I will leave you alone with your family now, my lord"

"Of course" Marasiah's grandfather says and opens the door so that he and Marasiah can enter the room. In the middle of the room stands a bed and a black haired woman lies on it. She holds a bundle in her arms and man with blue eyes and black hair with white streaks sits on the left of the woman on the bed. He has his arms around the woman's shoulders and they both look adoringly at the bundle.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Marasiah calls while letting her grandfather's hand loose and runs to the bed. Quickly jumping on the bed on the opposite side of her father she crawls towards her mother's side and looks at the bundle.

"He is so small" Marasiah says and hears laughter around her. Scowling she looks to her father and grandfather.

"Of course he is small. All newborn babies are small. You were also so small when you were born" Elliah, Marasiahs mother says attempting to calm her daughter down and stop her father in-law from teasing her daughter. This is something he enjoys immensely to the horror of Marasiah.

"Don't you want to know your brother's name?" Roan asks when both are calmed down. Marasiah nods enthusiastically.

"His name is Anakin" Roan says and sees the surprise on his father's face.

"Hello Anakin. I'm your big sister Marasiah. We will have fun playing together when you are older" Marasiah says looking at her brother in her mother's arms. The last part she added to avoid another lecture on why she cannot play with him just yet.

"You named him after mother's youngest brother?" Marasiah's grandfather asks curiously. He is surprised that they choose a name from a deceased family member.

"Yes we did, Felian. We thought it would be a good way to honor your mother's family and to keep their memory alive in this family and the empire" Elliah tells father in-law.

"It is. I remember precious he was to mother. It is good you choose this name as it doesn't have such a negative memory as the name Jacen carries" Felian says smiling before asking

"May I hold him?"

"Of course, Felian" Elliah says and gives her son to Felian. Felian carefully takes his new grandson in his arms before sitting down on one of the chairs that stand around the bed.

"What is it that you didn't want Master Skywalker to tell me?"Felian asks a bit worried. Looking to Elliah he sees that Marasiah is cuddling into her mother's side and he has to smile at the antics of his granddaughter.

"I saw danger in his future, father. From what I saw it has to do with a force-sensitive but I didn't get many details" Roan says worriedly. He doesn't want his son in danger because he is still so young and to think that he may be in danger in the future is also painful to him.

"Do you know when there will be danger in his future? This time is relatively safe and here on Bastion there are imperial knights who we both know will protect him with their lives" Felian says.

"I'm not sure when, father, but I believe it will be at least five and not more than ten years from now as he was still a child in the vision I saw. As to why the Force warned me I don't know" Roan explains.

"That means we have time to prepare for the danger the Force warned you about. I will inform Master Skywalker about it so that she can be on the look-out for the danger you saw" Felian says before walking to the cradle to let Anakin sleep. After putting his grandson in his cradle he turns to his family and says

"Now, I believe Marasiah's tutoring will start in a few minutes and we have duties to attend to. While we do that Elliah and Anakin can rest. Later tonight we will discuss the public announcement we will make on his birth"

"Of course, father" Roan answers and stands up.

"Can't I spend time with mommy and Anakin?" Marasiah asks with pleading eyes while cuddling deeper in her mother's side.

"No, Siah. You need to go to tutoring. Later you can come back here when your mother is awake" Roan tells his daughter. Marasiah groans in answer but follow him and her grandfather outside of the bedroom.

* * *

Later in the evening Roan and Felian join Elliah in the bedroom after Roan got Marasiah to sleep. He suspects that she will be up early in the morning to look at her brother. Marasiah is fascinated by Anakin as he is the first newborn baby she has seen in her life and also her first and last sibling. Roan and Elliah have decided that they will not have any more children.

"Elliah, if you are up to it we want you to accompany us when we show Anakin to the imperial knights in a few hours' time so that they will get familiar with his Force presence. They have already been informed about his birth by Shmi" Felian says and this wakes Roan from his musing.

"I'm sure I can do that, but that is not the reason why you are here. When do you intend to inform the Moffs and the public?" Elliah asks as she knows that that is the reason why Felian wants to talk to them. After Marasiah was born the imperial knights were also informed firstly before the Moff council and the imperial citizens.

"I will inform the moffs tomorrow morning and intend to inform the public about Anakin's birth in the afternoon. I would like for you to be there then together with Anakin so that everyone can see him then" Felian says and Elliah and Roan agree to do this.

"I'll leave you then so that you can get ready" Felian says and leaves the room. Roan then helps Elliah out of the bed and lets her ready herself. He doesn't help her if she doesn't ask for it so that she will not feel smothered by his concern. He knows that the servants will assist her with almost everything for the next two months as they do every time after a birth or if someone from the imperial family has gotten injured.

A few hours later Elliah is ready and takes Anakin out of his cradle before walking towards Roan who is waiting for her near their bedroom door. Together they leave the bedroom and walk towards the throne room to allow the imperial knights to meet Anakin for the first time. The trip takes them five minutes and when they enter the throne room through the back door they see Felian already waiting for them.

"The knights will arrive in a few minutes. Elliah, you can sit down on my throne if you want. I'm not sure that you will be able to stand as it might take a few hours" Felian says gently and Elliah, taking him up on his offer, sits down on the throne. Roan moves to stand on her right side behind the chair and Felian on the other side. Both are looking adoringly at a sleeping Anakin.

A few minutes later the first people enter the room. Among them is Shmi who wears the same armor she wore this afternoon. The other people who enter the room wear the same as she does. These are the imperial knights and they move into line. This is done every time when more than four knights are present and awaiting orders from their emperor or an speech. Roan can feel the knights carefully checking Anakin's Force presence and can feel Anakin's dislike of it. When he looks down to his son he sees Anakin movement around in his mother's arms. This shows that he can already feel the knights using the Force. Five minutes later all the knights have arrived and Felian moves forward and says

"Welcome, my knights. You have been told by Master Skywalker that my daughter-in-law, princess Elliah, has given birth to a son named Anakin, your new prince. You are called here so that you can meet him and get used to his Force presence. This will make it easier for you to protect him, as we know you are well aware of. I ask of you to greet him in small groups of no more than four people at one time. This to avoid to stress him"

During the speech Anakin has fallen asleep as the presence in the room was calm. Soon after emperor Felian finishes his speech small groups of knights come forward to greet their new prince who sleeps through most of it even if he fusses a bit when a knight feels his presence. Elliah gives Anakin to his father after an hour so that she can rest her arms a bit. Anakin feels this and moves around a bit in his father's arms before settling after having turned towards his father's chest. The greeting lasts till eleven o'clock when emperor Fell calls an end to it as he can feel that daughter-in-law is getting incredibly tired. He assists her back to her bedroom where Roan helps his wife get ready for bed after putting Anakin in his cradle. The imperial family sleeps soundly this night.

* * *

The next morning Roan walks towards the Moff council room with Anakin in his arms while be accompanied by a knight. Elliah has decided to spend the morning with Marasiah as it is a free day from school for her. Looking down to his son Roan has to smile at his sleeping face. Anakin is sleeping peacefully in his arms based on his expression and Force presence. They arrive at the council room in a few minutes and silently enter. The moffs are already present and Roan can hear them discussing what they believe to be the reason for them being here now. Normally the council would only meet once a week and as they have already met two days earlier it isn't normal. Some believe that they are called here to hear the announcement of the child the princess gave birth to yesterday. Other think that there is trouble somewhere and that they will discuss ways to deal with it. Roan feels displeased that some Moffs are looking for conflict. Because of this Roan decides to stay in the shadows and waits till his father arrives just as they had decided. When Felian and a company of knights arrive the Moffs rise in a show of respect as is expected of them.

"Good morning, Moffs. I'm sure that you want to know why I called this additional meeting" emperor Fell says after sitting down on his chair. The knight's move to stand on either side of his chair.

"Yes, your majesty. We do want to know why you called us here though we do have some theories about that" Moff Yage says confidently. Then Felian waves his son forwards and they can see the surprise on the faces of the moffs as the crown prince is rarely present at these meetings and surely never hidden in the shadows. Both Roan and Felian can read their thoughts about trying to find the secret areas so that they can be certain that no one will spy on their meetings and so that they can spy on each other and the imperial family.

"I'm sure you are aware that princess Elliah has given birth to a child yesterday. She has given birth to a healthy boy whose name is Anakin. I called you here so that you are informed of my grandson's birth before the public and you won't be surprised by the announcement we will make to the public this afternoon. I ask you to keep quiet about my grandson until after the announcement" Felian says and the moffs reluctantly agree as they can see the benefit in it. The moffs then walk up to Roan to have a look at their prince before leaving the room. When all the moffs have left Roan sits down in the chair next to his father.

"You are aware that they will be gossiping for a while now. Knowing some of them from what you told me they will be adapting their plans to include Anakin" Roan says and Felian has to laugh and says

"Let them. If they are scheming then we will catch them when they do something illegal. Also it is better that we know that they are scheming so that we can look for what they are planning. Besides they will all be watching their own backs now and some will be watched by our knights or intelligence agents"

Not much later they both leave the room and spend some time on doing their representatively duties before they and Elliah meet in a backroom from the throne room. The press has already gathered in the throne room to hear the news about the birth of their new prince or princess. They enter the throne room ten minutes later to give the press enough time to set everything up. Four knights accompany them into the room and move to stand around the imperial family for their protecting. The cameras all turn towards them to get a good look at the imperial family and the cameras in particular try to get a glimpse of the baby in princess Elliahs arms. When they stand on the dias the entire press starts to asks questions at the same time something which Anakin doesn't like and he shows it by crying. Elliah tries to sooth him while Roan sends calming feelings along the Force bond all Force-sensitive parents have with their Force-sensitive children.

"Silence!" Felian calls and the press is silent in seconds. The throne room is completely silent except for the noise of people moving and the occasional whimper from Anakin who is now calming down since the noise has disappeared and the Force feels calmer.

"Now that you are all silent we start with the press conference. You are all aware that princess Elliah has given birth to a boy yesterday. He will be called Anakin. In the package you will be given when you leave you will find the information we have released about my grandson. The package includes a holo about him. If you have any questions I ask you to lift your hand and not ask all at once as Anakin doesn't like the noise. Also it is difficult for us to answer questions when we can't understand the questions asked" Felian says and the press jumps the chance to ask questions about their new prince. After thirty minutes Elliah leaves the room to feed Anakin and rest a bit. Felian and Roan stay for another hour and a half when the conference is ended and the press leave the room to report what they learned to the public.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** This chapter and the next were written as a whole, but because of its length I decided to split it in two. Also, I want to thank everyone for waiting so long for this update.

* * *

 **122 ABY**

The last few years the health of emperor Felian has been declining because of old age. He started to have trouble breathing and he couldn't do all his work. The best doctors have been attending to Felian's health to make sure that it will not worsen. They have advised for the emperor to rest a lot so as to spare his energy levels. Because of this Roan has to attend to matters that his father can't do anymore. Currently Roan is reading the reports that the Moffs have given to him. They are all normal periodic reports and he intends to go to the imperial knight quarters to train afterward as it is still early in the morning. Marasiah and Anakin are currently in school and he wants to spend time with them after school. Roan doesn't see them as often as he would like or did in the past. They have been complaining about it for days now and he had promised them yesterday that he will spend more time with them. Roan intends to keep his promise as his father and his former master both taught him to keep his promises. Reading the reports takes two hours and then he moves on to write instructions for the Moffs and other officials that his father has to sign to make them official. Afterwards, he moves on to the meeting he has with one of the empire's ambassadors, something which he learned only a few minutes ago when his assistant informed him about it. He doesn't like such surprises bit knows that he will have them more in the future. The meeting takes an hour and a half and afterward, he finally can go to the imperial knights' quarters. There he trains for hours with the other knight's something which he hasn't found much time for because of the duties he took over from his father. He decides to make more time to train from now on as his skills have faded a bit. Not as much that he will have to start retraining some of his skills but enough that he knows that he needs regular training to keep them up. After the training, he moves to his personal quarters where he arrives just as Marasiah and Anakin get back from school.

"Daddy" Anakin calls and runs up to him. Roan lowers himself to his knees and catches Anakin as he comes running into his arms.

"How was school, little whirlwind?" Roan asks effectively while also embracing Marasiah as she arrives reaches them.

"It was great. We learned a few new letters and colors and we watched a movie about wildlife. Some of the little animals were really cute. I played with some other children in the room and outside" Anakin says enthusiastically.

"Oh, really?" Roan asks to which Anakin answers with nodding enthusiastically. He has to smile at his son's behavior. He is a happy boy who loves to learn and play. His behavior is really contagious as it brightens everyone's day.

"And how was your day, Siah" Roan asks his daughter.

"It was fine. We mostly went over things we had learned during the last few months though we were told that we will have a test in a few days" Marasiah says calmly. She is starting to behave as an adult from time to time. Sometimes she does act like her age. This makes it difficult to predict her behavior from time to time. Roan hopes that when she starts her training as an imperial knight that her behavior will stabilize.

"That is good to know. It means you will have to start studying soon. But first, let us find your playroom so that we can spend the afternoon together" Roan says and takes Anakin's hand in his. Marasiah does the same and both children happily follow him to said room. They are both happy to be able to spend time with their father as he has been busy the last few months and they didn't see him often.

They arrive at the playroom a few minutes later and when they enter Anakin tugs on their hand.

"Yes, Anakin?" Roan asks.

"What will we play, daddy" Anakin asks impatiently.

"I don't know, Anakin. We will have to make the decision on what we will play together" Roan answers and the next minutes are spent deciding what they will play. It was soon decided that they will play a board game. Deciding which game they will play took some time as Marasiah wanted to play another game than Anakin wants. Neither of them wanted to give up so, in the end, Roan had made the choice. His choice was one which they all were happy about in the end and neither had thought about. They ended up playing till they are called for supper by one of the servants. After supper, Marasiah went to work on her homework while Anakin finished his own before playing a bit in his room.

Later in the evening when both children are asleep Roan and Elliah are enjoying a calm evening together. They are watching a game on the holonet when there is a knock on the door. Roan and Elliah look at each other as they are not expecting anyone.

"Enter" Roan says and then Shmi enters the room. Her force presence feels sad and Roan fears that his father has died as this is the only reason Shmi could be sad and seeking him out now. He saw his father earlier in the evening to discuss tomorrow's matters and saw then that his father's condition has worsened. He had hoped that he would live for a few more days so the children would be able to see their grandfather one more time before he would die. Apparently, the Force has other ideas and his father died before the children could do so.

"Your majesty, I regret to inform you that your father emperor Felian Fell has passed away in his sleep thirty minutes ago" Shmi says formally to her new emperor.

"Thank you for informing me, Master Skywalker" Roan answers equally formal and Shmi then leaves the room. Listening to the Force to what is happening outside of the room Roan can hear Shmi talking to his security and informing them that he is now emperor. This means that his security will be tightened as will be the case for his family. Looking for his wife he sees that she is looking compassionately at him.

"We will have to make arrangements for your father's funeral and have to inform the children tomorrow after breakfast. I think it would be better if we are both present when we tell them" Elliah says and Roan agrees to it. They both stand up and leave the room to make preparations for the funeral. Wherever Roan goes at least for imperial knights will accompany him. Elliah herself has two knights following her around. By eleven forty-five they both went to bed.

* * *

 _The next morning_

When Anakin and Marasiah enter the dining room they can tell that something is wrong as there is tension in the room which can be felt in the Force around them and also because there are more knights around them and their parents. They could see more than four knights standing in the hallway in their quarters. This tells them that something is going on as normally only their grandfather would have so much security around him. Looking at their parents questionably they take their seat at the dining table. Shortly afterward their breakfast is brought in and their parents start eating. Confused Anakin and Marasiah look at each other before following their parent's example. They know that when their parents don't answer the questions they have they will have to wait until they explain it on their own. This always frustrates them immensely as they don't like waiting. When they are done with their breakfast and after the servants clean the table Anakin sees that his father places his hand together on the table and his mother places her hand over his father's. Anakin thinks she wants to support his father this way and that his father will finally explain what is going on.

"Siah, Ani, I'm sure you have noticed that there are more knights around us than is normally the case and I know that you want to know why that is. Am I right?" Roan asks calmly while feeling a bit nervous about telling the children that their grandfather has died but managing to hide it thanks to his years of experience in diplomacy and politics. He knows that Siah will understand what death means and that Anakin is too young to understand what it means. He will have to be careful in explaining to him what has happened in such a way that it is understandable.

"Yes, daddy" Anakin answers before his sister can say anything. Siah nods to show that she agrees with Anakin and knows that she couldn't disagree with him as she wants to know what has happened. She does know that her grandfather has been ill for the last months and hopes with her whole heart that he hasn't died.

"Last night master Skywalker came to inform me and your mother that your grandfather has become one with the Force and that I have become emperor" Roan explains simply so that Anakin will understand what it means.

"Can we go visit grandfather?" Anakin asks hopefully with tears showing near in his eyes but not yet falling. He doesn't want to lose contact with his grandfather as he always enjoys the time spent with him even after he became ill. His grandfather always has some interesting story to tell him or knows a nice small game to play.

"No, Anakin. I'm afraid that is not possible" Elliah says and can see the sadness in his eyes increasing before Anakin starts to cry openly. Looking at her daughter she sees that she is crying silently and possibly for some time. Standing up she walks towards both and envelopes them in a hug. Anakin clings to her dress while Marasiah throws her hands around her neck. She hugs them a bit tighter because of this and after a few minutes, Roan joins them in their family hug. When everyone has calmed down they separate and Roan says

"I know it will be difficult but I want you to continue on with your day as we always do. I know you'll miss your grandfather but it won't do to dwell on it. Now go on and make sure you're ready for school so your mother can take you both there"

After that everyone continues on with their day as normal and they all temporarily forget the death of Emperor Felian Fell as their activities distract them from it. Later in the evening, they all remember their loss as they are no longer being distracted from thinking about it. They later share the evening together to privately remember him.

* * *

 _Five days later_

Anakin is being assisted by his mother and her handmaidens in being ready for his grandfather's funeral. His mother is already ready. She is wearing a long black dress and has her hair neatly done. She and her handmaidens are helping Anakin put on a black suit which is similar to the uniforms of the military and Anakin doesn't like it one bit. He would prefer to wear something similar to what he always wears as he can move freely around in those clothes and in these, he can't as it feels restricting to him. It is all tightly around his body so that playing in it will be difficult. One of his mother's handmaidens is brushing his hair while his mother is straightening his clothes. Anakin likes having his hair brushed as it always relaxes him. He also has to put on black boots and when he feels the outside of it he is surprised to feel that it is smooth. He can also feel that the inside is comfortable for long wearing and walking based on his experience with these type of shoes. He had to wear similar boots during celebrations he went to with his family. They take a long time in Anakin's opinion to get him ready while it, in fact, takes no more than fifteen minutes.

"Come Anakin. Let's go meet up with your father and sister" Elliah says when they are done and holds her hand out.

"Okay" Anakin says and after Anakin takes his mother's hand they leave his room to go towards the dining room where Roan and Marasiah will be waiting for them. He doesn't know what to expect of today when they will say goodbye to his grandfather. He had asked Siah about it but she wouldn't give him any answers.

They arrive at the dining room in a few minutes and see Roan already there. A short while later Marasiah arrives and they wait a while before leaving for the funeral. Four knights accompany them to the funeral and Anakin can see more standing around the palace. Some of them are hidden so he can only feel their presence while others can be seen.

Five minutes later they arrive at the place where the funeral is being held. Two knights holding Force pikes are standing on the side of the platform in the middle of the palace grounds. Together with his parents, Anakin walks up not the platform. The knights stay standing behind the platform while Anakin can feel more standing on the other sides of the platform. Looking at the crowd he can see the Moffs standing on his right side while on his left side he can see important guests standing. Well, Anakin believes them to be important guests as they all wear what he knows to be fancy clothing. Right in front of them stands the platform on which his grandfather's body lies and behind it, civilians stand together with some of the military. Anakin knows that these are almost all high ranking officers as the lower ranking military staff won't be allowed to be present as guests. They will be present as security just as the imperial knights are. The imperial knights had said goodbye to his grandfather yesterday afternoon in a ceremony with only them and Anakin and his family. It was a sad ceremony in which Anakin had to cry and was comforted by his mother who he could cling to. Because of this Anakin doesn't look forward to this ceremony at all.

"We have gathered here today to say goodbye to my father and your emperor Felian Fell. He was a caring father to me and beloved as a grandfather by my children. I ask for a minute of silence so that everyone can remember him on their own" Roan says and this pulls Anakin out of his musing. Anakin moves closer to his mother during the silent minute as he remembers that he won't be able to play with his grandfather anymore nor will be able to hear interesting stories from him. Tears start to grow in the corners of his eyes and he grips his mother's dress with his hands seeking comfort from her. Afterwards, some people say things about his grandfather and some music is being played. Anakin doesn't keep track of it as he is more focused on trying to appear calm. He knows that it is expected of him and also he sees that Siah doesn't cry even though he can see that she looks sad she appears calm. As Anakin looks up to her he tries to follow her example. That's why he tries to appear calm but still clings to his mother for strength and comfort. He really hopes that it is the kind of behavior that is expected of him as he doesn't want to disappoint his sister nor his parents. Anakin puts his head against his mother's side as he feels her hand on his back. Looking back at the ceremony he can see his father and three knights moving to where his grandfather's body lies and they put his grandfather's body on fire with the burning stakes they are holding in their right hand. Seeing that Anakin turn his head fully in his mother's side while tears stream freely over his face and he struggles to stay quiet. She stroked his head soothingly and when he feels himself being lifted up he puts his head on the person's shoulder while continuing to cry silently. After Anakin has managed to calm himself down he can tell that it is his father who is carrying him based on his clothing he can see on the person's shoulder.

"Daddy?" Anakin says after looking in his father's face. He is surprised that his father carried him in public. He never does such a thing as his mother normally carries him in public or he is told to walk as he already is a big boy. When he was younger he was carried more while he now is rarely being carried by his parents anymore as he doesn't like to be carried anymore.

"Are you alright now, Anakin?" Roan asks gently. He isn't really surprised that Anakin cried during the ceremony as he is still young and it must be hard for him to watch as his grandfather's body is being put on fire.

"Yes, daddy" Anakin answers and gets a smile from his father.

"That is nice. We will go back to our quarters now to rest a bit and in an hour we will go to the throne room where a banquet will be held in honor of your grandfather" Roan says calmly.

"Okay" Anakin says while hugging his father tightly.

A few hours later Anakin walks back to his room together with Siah. Their parents have a few meetings with moffs about his father's crowning which will be held tomorrow morning. The banquet has been nice as there was plenty to eat which Anakin likes and he could talk to Siah or one of the other children present. Thanks to this he wasn't bored a lot. The only times he was bored was when he had to stay with his parents for the condolences. This was thankfully at the beginning of the banquet but unfortunately lasted for thirty minutes. Anakin deems these thirty minutes the longest thirty minutes of his life thus far. Currently, he and Siah are going back to their rooms to play a bit or in Siah's case relaxing as it is today a Saturday and they don't have homework to finish. Their parents had told them before leaving for their meeting that they should go to bed early so that they would be well rested for tomorrow as it will be a long day for them. Anakin doesn't know what to expect from the crowning as he has never seen one. Alright, he saw a few of them in the holo shows he watches whenever he has time for it and his parents allow it but his parents had told him that tomorrow's crowning is actually really different from how the holo shows depict it. Thus he doesn't know what to expect from tomorrow. What he does know is that he will have to wear similar uncomfortable clothing as today and he doesn't look forward to it. When they arrive at their rooms Anakin and Marasiah look at each other and say

"Good night, Anakin"

"Good night, Siah"

Afterward that they enter their room to spend some time alone and go to bed on time. Anakin plays a bit with his toys while Marasiah spends her time watching a few shows on the holo-net


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Anakin goes through exactly the same routine as the day before. Luckily Anakin can do some things on his own now that he has experienced it yesterday. This results in them being finished earlier than they expected. Anakin takes his mother's hand when they are done and together they walk to the dining room. When they arrive there he can see Master Skywalker sitting on one of the chairs working on some documents. She looks up when the door opens and stands up.

"Your Majesty, good morning" master Skywalker says.

"Good morning, master Skywalker. I'm sorry to disrupt you from your duties but Anakin and I finished earlier than expected. I was wondering if you could possibly look after him already" Elliah asks and Anakin is surprised by what his mother is saying. He expected that he would spend the day with his family. He looks up to his mother questionable but she doesn't turn to him. It frustrates him to no end as he wants to know why he can't spend time with her, daddy and Siah.

"Of course, your majesty" Master Skywalker says and she smiles a bit at him as if she knows what he feels.

"Anakin, please go play with the toys that are in this room for a while. Master Skywalker will take you to the throne room when it is time for the ceremony. We want you to stay with her and your sister as your father and I have a lot of boring stuff to do. Siah will join you here when she is done, okay?" Elliah asks gently and gets a reluctant nod from Anakin.

"Alright, mommy. But I thought Siah and I would spend time with you and daddy today" Anakin says unhappily. He wants to know why they can't spend the time together as a family even if his parents have to do boring stuff. Anakin is sure that he can keep himself occupied during those times.

"You will not spend the entire day with your father and me but after the crowning, there will be a dinner during which you will be able to sit close to us. I know you want to be with us but it is not always possible and you have to learn that not everything will go as you want it. I know that it will be difficult but also know that you will be able to do it. If you don't believe me, you can ask Siah about it. She also has had these learned things when she was your age" Elliah says. She can see that Anakin believes her and knows that it is due to his force sensitivity. Siah could do the same thing when she was younger and it has only gotten better. She deems force sensitivity a useful skill but also knows from Roan that it comes with a burden. Those who have it are responsible to use it rightly and not simply to enrich themselves or to take revenge on anyone. She knows that Anakin is already learning this in school and during his tutoring with Treis Sinde. He teaches him how to use the force as those that are born in families who are part of the imperial knights always have their own children trained from a young age. This ensures that these children will be able to pass the trials earlier than those who didn't have this training. Treis was given this job as he is a good teacher while it also serves as a form of punishment for his latest disobedience. He was checking something a few months ago and when he was told to return he simply stayed to help sort everything out on the planet against the emperor's orders. Despite this Tries is a loyal knight who will do what is necessary to the empire. He only gives these lessons after school hours while the remainder of his time he spends on training his own apprentice Sigel Dare or training in general.

Elliah gives Anakin a hug after she is done thinking and then leaves the room. Looking around the room after his mother closes the door Anakin can see that he is alone with Master Skywalker. He hopes that Siah will be here soon so that he can play with someone and doesn't have to play alone. He knows that Master Skywalker has important things to do so he can't disturb her and she can't play with him. He learned this during the last time she looked after him while also working on her administration. He didn't like it but also came to understand that Master Skywalker is in his opinion a nice woman who will help anyone who needs it so as long as she is able and allowed to help them.

"My prince is everything alright" master Skywalker asks when she sees that Anakin keeps standing in the middle of the room.

"Yes, everything's fine. I was just thinking" Anakin says and then turns to the toys that are in the room with which he starts to play. Thirty minutes later Anakin is deeply into his playing when he hears the door opening. He sees that Siah enters the room when he looks up and knows that she is finally done. It took her a long time to get ready but he can see that she looks really pretty in the white dress and with her hair neatly done. This does explain, in Anakin's opinion, why she took this long to finish.

"Siah!" Anakin calls while running towards her. He hugs her tightly for a short while before he says

"You look really pretty, Siah"

He is met with laughter from both master Skywalker and Siah. Anakin didn't understand why they would laugh when he was just telling the truth.

"Thank you, Anakin" Siah says smiling while ruffling his hair carefully so as to not bring it into a disarray. He swaps her hand away as he doesn't like it when people ruffle his hair. It always makes him feel like he is a little child while he is already a big boy.

"Come play" Anakin says and drags her on her arm towards the area he was playing in. They play for about thirty minutes before master Skywalker calls them to her while standing by the door waiting. Anakin can see that the table is cleared and one of the archive droids is walking through the door most likely back towards the library. Anakin and Marasiah put the toys away together before moving towards Master Skywalker. Together they walk towards the throne room where they arrive only a few minutes later. Anakin is about to walk through the main doors when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"No, your majesty. We won't enter the throne room through these doors but through a back door. Follow me. I'll show you where it is" Master Skywalker says. Anakin and Siah look at each other smiling. They will finally learn where the back door is. Their parents always entered the room through there and they weren't told where to find this door. Until now they always had to enter the throne room through the main doors and this will make it easier for them to reach their parents whenever they are in the throne room.

Five minutes later they enter the throne room through the back doors. To reach it they had to navigate a complex system of hallways with multiple turns. Anakin isn't sure he will be able to remember every turn you have to make to reach the throne room. Also, he wonders why it is so complex. Wouldn't it be better if it was an easy path to the throne room because it is easier to protect? Anakin is sure that it is.

"Master Skywalker, why did we have to take so many turns to reach the throne room through the back door?" Anakin asks curiously.

"The palace was built long ago, your majesty, and this was intended then to be a hidden way for the owners of this building to leave the throne room in case of emergencies. Also if it was dangerous they could still reach the throne room through this way. The turns were put in place to make it difficult for people who are unfamiliar with its layout to reach the throne room. Do you understand what I said, your majesty?" master Skywalker asks.

"Yes, master Skywalker. The turns were put in place for security when the palace was built long ago" Anakin summarizes while moving with Master Skywalker to the side of the dais where the thrones are placed on. He can see uncle Hogrum already standing there and he can also see guest sitting in the room. Knowing that people will be watching his behavior, Anakin walks calmly towards his uncle. He doesn't want another scolding on how to behave in public. He learned that a few years ago during an official event. Uncle Hogrum is a fair skinned human male with black hair. He wears life-preserving cybernetic armor because he can't live without it. One of his eyes and his left ear is also replaced by cybernetics. This was all because of an accident which maimed him last year. It was a sad time for the family and Anakin remembers that it wasn't certain that he would survive it. He can feel that Siah and Master Skywalker are following him. As his uncle is standing near the throne Anakin believes that it is where he and Siah are also are expected to stand. The three chairs that stand around the throne further confirms Anakin suspicion as one is on his height. The other two he believes to be placed there for Siah and his mother.

"Master, will you be standing with us?" Anakin asks innocently.

"Yes, your majesty. Just as your uncle I will be on the dais as we both have our duties during the ceremony. That doesn't mean that you don't have to listen to me" Master Skywalker says sternly. She knows her prince quite well. If he is uncertain if he should listen to someone then he won't do it. The same goes for the times when he hasn't been told he has to listen to someone. He is quite the mischievous boy who will do whatever he likes unless someone he knows he has to listen to tells him not to do it.

"Okay" Anakin says unhappily. He had hoped that he had to listen to his parents during the ceremony. Not that he doesn't like Master Skywalker but he prefers to listen to his parents. Also, he wants to spend time with them which he wasn't able to do the last few days and which he knows he won't be able to do much after today. They will be busier than they were previously.

"Good morning, uncle Hogrum" Anakin says when he reaches his uncle.

"Good morning, Anakin" Hogrum Chalk says but when he wants to say more they can all hear a voice calling out

"Prince Roan Fell and Prince Elliah Fell"

This announces the arrival of his parents and Anakin is quick to move to the chair that he knows is meant for him. Looking towards Siah he sees that she is doing the same. She stays standing so Anakin decided to imitate her. Siah is older and knows better how it is expected that they behave in certain situations. When nothing is said Anakin is sure that he is doing what he is supposed to be doing. Looking to the doors Anakin can see his parents walking in. His mother is wearing a beautiful white dress with sparkling stones covering it. She is also wearing multiple pieces of jewelry and has a crown on her head. At least Anakin thins it is a crown. Looking at his father he can see that he is wearing a long bluish robe with a wide purple belt around it. The robe has a beautiful print on it and over the robe, he is wearing a red mantle. On his shoulders, the robe has some fur coverings. He can see that his mother has her hand on his father's elbow. Anakin can also see four knights who are holding force pikes walking around them and sees that their armor is shining brightly. He knows that they must have cleaned their armor for today's event. Looking to master Skywalker and the other knights in the room he can see that their armor is also shining brightly.

When he looks back to his parents Anakin can see a few beings in red robes walking behind his parents. They are holding cushions with things on it. On two are crowns, on one is the circlet he has seen his father wearing and on another is a staff. The staff is made of what Anakin believes to be gold and thus must be really important and valuable. It is then that he notices that everyone in the room is also standing.

A few minutes later the group reaches the dais and his parents move up the dais towards the thrones. The knights move to stand around the dais. There they stay standing before it when Master Skywalker steps forward and says.

"We have gathered here today for the crowning of our new emperor and empress. The son of our previous emperor, Roan Fell, and his wife, Elliah Fell"

It is then that the beings who are holding cushions with the crowns and staff on it step forwards. When he looks towards his parents he sees that they are now kneeling before Master Skywalker. Master Skywalker takes a crown and steps towards his father. She places it on his head before taking the other and placing it on his mother's head. Afterward, she gives the staff to her father who takes it in his right hand. It is then that she takes the circlet and moves towards him. He sees her telling him to kneel which he does quickly. A short while later he feels her placing the circlet on his head. Anakin wonders if there is another somewhere for his sister as he is certain she deserves one too. Also, Anakin doesn't know if the circlet has a purpose. He couldn't see what the circlet looked like and knows that his father wore one. This means to him that the circlet is something royalty wears and if it has a specific purpose is unknown to him. Looking up he sees that his mother is mentioning him with her hand to stand up. Anakin does so quickly. When he stands Master Skywalker says

"I present to you, people of the Empire, your new Emperor Roan Fell, his wife Elliah Fell and their children crown prince Anakin Fell and princess Marasiah Fell"

They are greeted by cheering and applause from the people. From Master Skywalker's statement, Anakin can tell that he has just been named as his father's future successor. Together the imperial family walks down the room with the imperial knights accompanying them. They go to their quarters for a bit before joining the people in celebrating the crowning of their new emperor. The celebrations last till late in the evening. At the end, Anakin feels really exhausted but he has enjoyed himself immensely. He could play with the other children who were present so that he wasn't really bored a lot. The only times he was were during dinner when he couldn't leave the table. That evening when Anakin gets back to his room he readies himself for the night. When he feels the bed under himself he instantly falls asleep.

* * *

A few months later word came in that the jedi have started a project to heal and revive the worlds that were devastated by Vong terraforming. Roan found it a promising project as he wants to give the Vong a chance to atone for their actions and knows that it will make the wolds habitable again. Also, he knows that most of his Moffs don't share his view. Actually, they would love to do nothing more than drive the Vong out of the Galaxy. Still, most of the citizens are happy with this project as it will restore their worlds to how they were before and make life easier. At least that is what they hope it will do. Everyone knows that they will have to wait to see the results the project will bring. They know that you can't know how it will turn out in the beginning but only when it is being executed or finished.


	4. Chapter 4

**124 ABY**

Roan sits in his office reading the latest report from Master Skywalker. She has been investigating one or more possible traitors among the imperial knights on his orders for four months now. It has been proven to be a difficult investigation as the traitor covered his tracks really well. Until now she hasn't been able to pinpoint anyone as the traitor. It made the investigation really frustrating for both Shmi and him. But that has changed when they got word that Eskar Niin has abandoned his vows as an imperial knight. Because of this, she has focused her investigations on Niin's actions from the last year. Her latest report states that he has been using his position as an imperial knight to gather information and selling it to the highest bidder. For what reasons she doesn't know but Roan knows that he has to change the intelligence codes so that something like that can't happen again.

Also in this report, it is stated that he has been seen mostly on highly populated planets. This makes sense in Roan's mind as it is difficult to locate and track someone on those planets. It is really easy to lose someone in the crowds and more importantly, there are many places where one can hide. Also, there are many places where one can sell information and meet with others without raising suspicion. All this makes Roan draw the same conclusion as Master Skywalker made. Eshkar Niin is the traitor she has been trying to find for the past four months. Roan knows that he now will have to make a difficult decision. He has to choose which knight he will send to deal with the traitor in their midst. There are enough qualified knights to send after him. Also, there is Niin's former apprentice to take into account. Roan isn't completely sure of his loyalty right now as he doesn't know how long Niin has been doing this or even thinking about it. By sending his former apprentice it will serve as a test of loyalty for the knight if he is sent to deal with his former master. By completing this assignment the knight will show that to Roan that his loyalty lies with the order and not with his former master. Thus Roan calls the knight to his office and tells him to be there in thirty minutes. He leaves the reason for the summoning out on purpose. If he will now run it shows that he is also a traitor and if not then he could be loyal. His true loyalty will show at the end of his mission. Afterward, he makes a call to Shmi and tells her to subtly keep an eye on the young knight. This way he knows what movements the knight makes after receiving the summons from his emperor.

Thirty minutes later, Mohrgan Fell enters his office silently and bows. Mohrgan is a tan-skinned male with black hair and brown eyes. He is a member of the imperial family and a cousin of Emperor Roan Fell.

"Cousin, knight Antares Draco just arrived and said that you summoned him. Shall we let him enter?" Mohrgan asks calmly. One of his brothers-in-arms is currently waiting with the knight for their emperor's decision.

"Let him enter, cousin. I called him to deal with the traitor and to show his loyalty to our order" Roan states calmly. Afterward, Mohrgan leaves the room and knight Draco calmly enters the room. He has black curly hair and black eyes. He is a muscular young man in his late teens. In fact, Roan knows that he has only become a legal adult two months ago. This does not erase the fact that he was knighted eighteen months ago. The knight walks towards Roan, who is sitting on a couch, and bows down.

"Your majesty, you summoned me" Antares Draco says calmly. Inside he feels nervous as this is the first time he has been summoned to his emperor's office alone. Up until now, he has only ever been summoned with at least one other knight accompanying him. So he wonders why he has been summoned alone. Will he finally get a solo mission or is there something else. He has heard rumors that there is a traitor among them but has been unable to get any details. All the knights hope that either Master Skywalker or the emperor himself will tell them something soon. They want to know who has betrayed the order. With all the time that is spent in silence, Antares feels his nervousness increasing. Also, he is confused why the emperor is touching his Force presence. Doesn't he trust his knights? Antares wonders.

"I summoned you here because I have an important mission for you, Antares" Roan says after waiting for some time to answer. He did that to subtly test Draco's Force presence to see if there are any indications about his loyalty. Up until now, he has only sensed the nervousness he associates with young knights. There is nothing in his presence that indicates that he is disloyal to the order.

"As you know we have a traitor in our order. Recently, Master Skywalker discovered just who the traitor is. It is your former master Eshkar Niin" Roan explains and can feel the surprise in Antares's presence. This shows that he is either a good actor or he doesn't know anything about his former master's betrayal. This is a comfort if Roan is honest with himself. He can also feel that Antares want to ask him something but that he keeps quiet out of respect to let him tell him what his mission will be.

"It will be your mission to find your master and take care of him. You know what I mean with that, am I right?" Roan asks.

"Yes, your majesty" Antares answers. He knows that his emperor intends for him to kill his master. He also knows that he will do it as his loyalty has always been with the order and the imperial family. Antares appreciated the lessons master Niin taught him as it allows him to better serve the imperial family as his own family has been doing for years now.

"What you need to know is that your Niin has only been on highly populated planets. In these reports are the names of the planets he has been seen at during the last six months. Every month I expect a report from you on your progress" Roan says while giving the data chip containing the information to Antares. He accepts it calmly and puts it in his pocket to read later when he is in private. He knows that this will not be a mission he can discuss with his friends nor can he ask fellow knights for advice. He will be on his own with this mission. Before leaving the office Antares bows once more. It is then that Roan sighs. Roan knows that it will now be waiting to see what happens.

 **Three months later**

Antares is currently moving towards the rooftop of the skyscrapers the planet he is on exists out of. He has been hunting his former master for months now and every time he almost got him, he got away. This has been really frustrating, but Antares is certain that he will that he will be able to deal with his former master today. A few days ago he learned that his former master has been hunting the empress and together with her they set up a trap. Alright, they did it after gaining approval from the emperor. They chose this planet because of how populated and busy it is to minimize the chance of citizens being injured. When people see fights on this planet, Antares knows that they will quickly get clear of the area. Arriving at the rooftop Antares hides behind a wall and cloaks his presence in the Force. This will ensure that his former master doesn't know he is present. The empress will arrive shortly and by arriving earlier, Antares knows that he will be able to protect her better. Also, he can check the area for other dangers so as to eliminate any further threats to the empress's life. When she arrives he is unpleasantly surprised to see that his prince is also there. He shouldn't be here as it will be too dangerous for him. There is no one around to protect his life. What possessed the emperor to allow him to come along he doesn't know. Just then the prince looks up and Antares can also tell that his former master has arrived. Before he can react the Empress has sent the prince already into hiding. Checking on the location his prince choose Antares deems it safe for the time being and then makes his presence knows. He intends to end the fight soon so that he can protect his prince as he won't have any protection around him currently.

Antares doesn't have to wait long before his former master makes an appearance. When Eshkar Niin arrives he is quick to strike out at the empress who defends herself with a lightsaber she got from Master Skywalker. She has been training the empress in its use for the last six months now as a security precaution. This way the empress is able to defend herself if the need arises. As he sees this Antares decides to intervene. He ignites his lightsaber and moves as fast as he can to the empress's aid. It appears that Eshkar Ninn notices his approach as he pushes him away with the Force while moving closer to the Empress.

"I am your empress, Niin! Remember your vows!" empress Fell calls out to the treacherous knight in an attempt to have him come to his senses. Just then Niin manages to land a lethal blow to the empress at the same time as Antares manages to recover from the throw.

"I will kill you!" Antares screams at his former master from where he stands. He moves at his former master and they end up battling all across the rooftop. It is a hard fight where both manage to land blows at each other. In the end, Antares manages to land strike at his former master that has Niin falling from the rooftop down on another roof. Antares looks down at his master lying on the roof a few kilometer below. He sees him lying motionless and thus believes him to be dead. No one could have survived such a fall, could they? Antares wonders. Also, Antares wants to check on the condition of the empress and naturally also that of his prince. Thus he shuts down his lightsaber and walks back to where the empress lies. There he checks on her vital signs and finds none. Then he checks her Force presence as he knows that people who don't show vital signs can still have a Force presence. This is a sign that the person involved is not yet dead. With his empress, he finds absolutely no presence and thus knows that she is truly dead. Picking up his comlink he makes a call to the have the body of the empress picked up while taking a blanket out of a first aid package to cover the empress body. The prince should not see his mother's dead body in this way. He is not looking forward to reporting this to the emperor at all. He will most likely be furious that he didn't protect his wife sufficiently Antares thinks.

Just when he wants to check on his prince he hears an ear-shattering scream. He runs to where the sound came from to see who screamed so. If he is right then the sound came from where he knows his prince to be hiding and is shocked by what he sees when he gets there. A woman dressed in the garb of a bounty hunter and reeking of the dark side of the Force is holding Anakin hostage by holding a blaster to his head. Despite his shock, Antares is quick to lock the firing mechanism of the blaster with the Force while pushing the woman away from his prince. All this before any of them can say a single word and he also has pulled the prince behind him while igniting his lightsaber in case the bounty hunter starts to fire her blaster at them. A few seconds later the bounty hunter has recovered from the throw and is snarling at him.

"So one of the loyal dogs of the emperor shows his face when a member of that accused family is in danger. How far are you willing to go, knight?"

"As far as is necessary. I gave my loyalty to the emperor and his family and am prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect them" Antares answers. He knows that if it comes to it he is willing to give his life for a member of the imperial family. He can also feel through the Force the fear that is rolling off his prince in waves so he places a call for immediate backup. He hopes that they will be here soon if the bounty hunter does try to kill Anakin. Also, he doesn't know if she has any accomplices around so he isn't sure how well he can protect his prince.

The bounty hunter and himself have currently entered a standoff in which no of them is willing to make the first move. During the standoff, he also keeps checking the environment with the Force so that he knows if a possible accomplice is coming upon them. Until now he hasn't sensed any accomplice coming up on them but can feel two imperial knights approaching them on high speed. He is glad that they will be soon here so that he has support should he need it. Not that he doubts his skills but it never hurts to have a backup.

"Mama, Mama!" Antares can hear his prince continue to call. He understands that his prince wants his mother as it is a way for him to feel safe due to his young age. Antares is actually relieved that he covered the empress's body with a blanket he found so as to not traumatize his prince too much. Just when he can tell that his prince is beginning to lose it due to the stress of everything he experienced today he can hear the sound of two lightsabers being ignited. He can see how the bounty hunter stiffens and can see that Sigel Dare is standing behind her. She is an apprentice to master Sinde and close to being knighted. Antares can clearly imagine what she is doing and when he looks to his side he can tell that master Sinde is standing beside him.

"Drop your weapons and hold your hand up" apprentice Dare says in an ice-cold voice. He remembers this voice as she always uses it to those she despises or seems to be needing a lesson. The bounty hunter sneers once before complying with stiffening a bit. Antares knows that she must know that she will most likely be killed if she doesn't comply. Master Sinde then puts binders on the bounty hunter. By the way, the bounty hunter stiffens Antares can tell that this must be force dampening binders.

"Sigel, take the bounty hunter to the security officials waiting below. Make sure she is securely locked up as I'm sure that our emperor will have questions for her in the future" master Sinde says. Sigel follows the instructions and when she has left the rooftop master Sinde turns to the price and him.

"Antares, what happened and why is the prince here with you and not at home" Master Sinde asks curiously. He knows that this was the place where a trap was set up for Eshkar Niin. They were close by on orders of the emperor to keep an eye on Antares. If they saw any signs of treachery they were to deal with him and finish the mission Antares was given. That is the reason why they were here so soon after Antares places the call for assistance and why he doesn't ask for where the empress is. He knows that she has been killed by Niin as he saw everything that happened on the rooftop. He was impressed by Antares skills and wouldn't be surprised if he is tired right now. Such a fight as Antares just had would have been exhausting for many highly experienced masters. As to why their prince is here he wants answers as-well-as to the full situation. In the end, Antares explains what happened here to master Sinde but he, unfortunately, has no explanation as to why their prince is here with them. This is not to master Sinde's liking as Antares can tell from the expressions he gains on his face. This all confirm his belief that he won't like giving his vocal report to his emperor.


	5. Chapter 5

One day later Antares stands in the throne room where his emperor has summoned him to. Before coming he made sure to clean his armor and shower. He doesn't want to look like a vagabond in the presence of his emperor. He believes that he will have to give his oral report here as he doesn't know if someone else has given a report on the situation nor has he been asked to do it anywhere else. He has just finished writing the report last evening but likes to read it one more time to make sure he doesn't leave any grammatical errors in it. He has heard from other that if there are too many grammatical mistakes in it you will have to take grammatical lessons and rewrite it completely. This is something which he wants to avoid at all costs but also can understand as it is difficult to read later on or when someone is analyzing the situation in the future. He knows that this happens from time to time as academics or reporters want to understand the situation or report on it. A door being opened pulls him from his musing. He straightens because he can feel the emperor entering the room. This increases his nerves as he knows that he will now be under the scrutiny of his emperor.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Antares? I entrusted my wife's safety in your hands and you failed to protect her from your former master" Roan says irritated that this young knight could fail so tremendously at protecting a member from a threat. Antares has been a truly promising knight and hasn't had even one failure during his previous mission. Before coming here Treis had explained the situation to him from what he could see. Through this, he knows that Antares has been doing everything he could but doesn't have the experience to go up against his master. That he managed to defeat him means that he will become an incredibly powerful knight. Roan promises himself that he will be watching his career with great interest.

"Nothing, your majesty. I failed you when I couldn't protect your wife sufficiently" Antares answers with deep regret. If he could change history he would do so to make sure that the empress survived the encounter with his former master.

"And why couldn't you protect her?" Roan asks while having his opinions on the reason based on what Treis has told him. His tone has softened already as he can tell that the situation is bothering Antares quite some bit.

"I tried getting to the empress to protect her when my former master had engaged her but he pushed me aside with the Force. The Empress and I had determined that I would hide my presence until Niin had approached the Empress. We did not expect him to behave so fast and strike at her. If not for the training master Skywalker gave her she wouldn't have been able to defend herself. I had just recovered from the throw when he killed your wife" Antares explains to his emperor. He really hopes that he won't be punished for his failure but would also understand it if he would be. His fate is now in the hands of his emperor who he knows is a strict but just ruler and who he knows will not be unfair to him.

Roan stays silent for a few minutes to think about what he will do with this young knight. He knows that he won't punish him because he couldn't have done anything about the outcome as he couldn't predict his former master's behavior. In fact, Roan knows that he wouldn't have anticipated nor expected this kind of behavior from Niin. Niin has always been a patient being and not one to rush into anything. So what Niin did yesterday has been totally unexpected and strange.

"Antares, you will be assigned to my personal security detail for the next two months. Afterward, you will go back to execute missions" Roan says. He decides to do this so that he can keep an eye on the progress Antares will be making in the future and also see if he can be made a master in about ten years. He knows that if someone is ten years or less away from becoming a master then you can already see the promise in them. Roan wants to know if this promise can be found in Antares. By having him in his personal security detail he will be able to see the promise if it is there.

"Of course, your majesty" Antares answers and awaits further orders or instructions.

"You're dismissed" Roan says then. Antares bows once before leaving the room while Roan goes back to his own quarters. He hasn't told Anakin or Siah about what happened yet and doesn't look forward to doing so. One of the reasons is that he doesn't know if he can be a stable person on which his children can rely on. He knows that Siah will understand what it means but that Anakin is too young to understand what it really means. Also, he is worried about the assassination attempt on Anakin and knows that he will have to take precautions. Most importantly is that he finds the one who called the hit while not risking his son's life unnecessarily. He knows that he is suppressing his emotions about what happened until he is on his own in his bedroom and his children are asleep. Furthermore, he is aware that Siah is suspecting that something is going on and will be asking questions soon if she isn't told what is going on. For that reason and because of the statement he will be giving to the public after being pushed into doing so by his counsel, he will talk to his children about what happened after dinner.

* * *

Later the same evening after dinner Roan looks at his children and says

"Please stay here for a while longer, children. I have something important to tell you. I'm sure you are all wondering where your mother is and why I have told you to patient" after receiving nods from his children in answers and seeing the confused look on Anakin's face and the suspicion in Siah's face, he takes a deep breath before continuing "well, you know that your mother was attacked by Eshkar Niin, right"

"Yes, father. I saw him attacking mommy and it was so scary so I didn't watch what happened" Anakin says. He had hidden and listened to what he could hear was going on. He had heard his mother saying something to master Niin about loyalty but doesn't remember what she really said. So he doesn't say anything about it. Furthermore, he didn't hear anything happening to his mother so he wonders why his father brought it up. Did something happen to his mother during the attack? Anakin really hopes that it not the case.

"During the attack, Niin your mother to push a knight aside who was assigned to protect your mother and managed to kill her before the knight was able to reach your mother. The knight killed him in retaliation for it" Roan explains and can see the sadness in his children's eyes. Siah is already quite able to keep her emotions in hidden and doesn't start to cry even though he can see the tears brimming in her eye. Anakin, on the other hand, is crying silently and has tears running down his eyes. A few minutes later Anakin is calming down and asks

"Daddy, what does retaliation mean?"

"Retaliation means that you repay someone in kind. That means that if someone hurts you, you retaliate by hurting him too. Anakin, I want you to know that I don't want to hear from anyone about you doing something like that to anyone, am I understood?" Roan asks sternly as he wants to make sure that Anakin doesn't pick up on the habit of retaliating. This would not be good behavior for a future emperor besides it will also follow him forever should he do such a thing. This is something he wants to protect his son from as he has seen what it can do to people.

"Yes, daddy" Anakin answers subdued while he can also understand why his father asked this of him. He knows that people look at his behavior so he can't do something that would reflect badly on him or his family. Also, he doesn't want to disappoint his father. That has always made him feel so guilty. All this distracts him from the recent news of his mother's death. Thus once the conversation dies down he is reminded of the news and walks to his father for comfort. He puts his head on his father's shoulder and cries silently. Marasiah is quick to follow her brother's example as she also wants her father's comfort despite her age and also cries on her father's shoulder. Roan gently strokes their hair and says soothing words. He does his best to comfort his children but is unsure if he is doing it right as his wife normally would do such a thing. Thinking about her Roan can feel the tears starting to gather in the corners of his eyes but is determined to not let them fall. He feels that he has to keep a strong appearance so that his children can rely on his strength. But in the end, he is unable to keep his emotions under control and cries and grieves for his wife together with his children.

* * *

The next morning Roan makes his way to the press room to inform the people about what has happened to their empress after informing the knights about what happened. They were all outraged that one of their own would betray their vows and kill their empress. One thing they were equally happy and disappointed about was that he has been dealt with. They all would have loved to be the one dealing with him. No one betrays the vows they took without feeling the consequences of doing so.

When Roan arrives at the side room of the press room he can tell that there are many reporters present in the press room based on the noise he can hear coming from the room. Walking into the side room he can see a few of his staff waiting for him.

"Your majesty, the preparation for the press conference are almost complete. The conference will start in about thirty minutes so you can take some refreshments or do some of your work while we finish the final preparations" one the beings present tells him. Roan decides after a few minutes of consideration to sit down on one of the couches and to take some of the refreshments he can see standing on a table while working through some of the files he is supposed to sign or need his personal attention. Thirty minutes later one of the beings calls him and says

"Your majesty, the press conference is about to start"

"Thank you for informing me" Roan says and closes the file he is reading before taking the data disk out. He puts this in his pocket before rising from the couch and walking to the door leading to the press room. Once inside the room he can see that there are approximately six knights standing around the room to ensure his safety. Despite the presence of the knights, Roan knows that should it become necessary he is able to defend himself as he is a fully trained knight himself. His father never had the full training as he didn't deem it important but has had some basic training. In his own case, Roan did find the training important as it makes the work of his knights easier so he ensured that he would complete it. As a result of this Roan made it a rule that any member of the royal family born after this rule became official would be expected to take training among the imperial knights. In Siah's case, he told her that he expected it of her and she complied. That was the reason why she started with the training before he made it a rule for members of the imperial family.

"Welcome, I'm sure you all know about the attack on my wife, your empress, two days ago and you want to know how it happened" Roan says after sitting down and after the conference has started. He looks around the room and can tell that this is what most are wondering about. Also, he can tell that there are many who want to know the identity of the attacker. Roan has to wonder what their reaction will be once they know that the attacker was a treacherous knight and that he has been dealt with. This all he can tell because the thoughts of the press are quite loud so it is easy to tell without having to do a lot. At least for those who are Force-sensitive as they do attempt to keep their emotions from their faces.

"We learned months ago that there was a traitor among my knights and after a careful investigation, we managed to determine the traitor's identity. As a result of this, I send the former apprentice of this traitor on a mission to deal with his former master. The former apprentice learned that his former master was hunting my wife so he set up a trap together with her. The way the trap was planned had my approval and I was positive about the outcome of it. Unfortunately, we all know that it didn't have a good outcome as the trap would end in a confrontation. There the traitor pushed his former apprentice to the side while moving towards my wife. After a short fight during which my wife tried to get him to come back to his senses he managed to land a mortal blow on her just as his former apprentice managed to get back on his feet. The traitor and his former apprentice fought for some time before the apprentice managed to kill him and the traitor fell on the roof of a nearby building" Roan explains and can see the questions in the eyes of the reporters. He steels himself for the flood of questions he is sure will soon be directed at him and hopes that his staff will be able to get control of it once it happens.

"Silence!" One of his staff calls out at the reporters who have started to ask all their questions at the same time.

"To make sure something like what just happened before doesn't happen again we will give each of you a turn to ask your most important question if you behave during the time you have to wait. So if you want to have your question answered you will await your turn" The same member of his staff instructs. The voice this member used was so severe that the entire room is silent and stays silent almost as if they were afraid. Roan keeps his amusement of the press being reprimanded by a member of his staff hidden. Afterwards, every reporter is given a turn to ask him their most important question. Later the evening after the news shows shock goes through the public at the news of the death of their empress and that of a traitor among the imperial knights. Still, everyone is glad that the traitor had been dealt with.


	6. Chapter 6

Three days after the press conference is Roan making his way to his son's rooms to see if he is already ready to go to his wife's funeral. Considering that he has sent a servant there to make sure Anakin would be ready in time he isn't too worried about it but still would like to see it for himself. Siah barely needs help now as she is old enough to do it on her own now or if she needs help she will ask for it on her own so he worries little about her not being ready in time. Roan knows that they both miss their mother immensely based on their behavior and the feelings they give off through the Force in the past few days. He truly hopes that they will learn to give their grief a place soon as he received reports from their teachers about them not paying much attention to their lessons or getting lost in thought. This is not behavior that is acceptable for members of the imperial family. If this continues for another two weeks then he will first try to help them on his own before asking for the assistance for professionals. If he is honest with himself then he would prefer not to get professionals involved. But if it is necessary then he will have to deal with it.

Soon he is standing before his son's room and quietly enters. He can see that Anakin is sitting on his bed looking sad and on the brink of tears with his eyes to the ground. Roan is surprised that Anakin already can manage his emotions this well considering his age. But then he has to take into account that they are in the center of attention on a lot of occasions. Thus it is not really that surprising as he learned at a young age that you have to ensure that you know how to manage your emotions. He walks towards his son and kneels in front of him while placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Anakin?" Roan asks gently but then can hit himself for his words. Of course, Anakin isn't alright. He lost his mother recently and that is sure to leave traces behind even after the time he has had to find a way to deal with it.

"Just give me a minute and then I'll be fine, daddy" Anakin says while trying to put a brave front.

"Anakin, I greatly admire you for your control over your emotions. You don't have to hide them when you are in the family wing as no one will mind if they see your emotions. While we are in public I would appreciate it if you could control them. Still, no one will be upset with you if you can't control your emotions as you are still quite young" Roan explains and can feel in the Force that Anakin calms down even further while his grief stays present. This is something that he knows will take time to give a place but he feels confident that Anakin will find a way to deal with it based on the behavior he saw just yet.

Anakin stands up a few minutes later and says

"I'm ready to go now daddy"

"Okay, come on then. We don't your sister to wait a long time for us to join her, right?" Roan asks and gets a laugh in response. He is happy to amuse his son before he will have to go through one of the most difficult things he experienced up until now. It always lifts his mind if he can hear his children laugh after everything they went through. Soon they join Siah in one of his sitting rooms to wait until the ceremony starts. He hopes that it will soon start as he wants to get it over with for himself and his children. He doesn't want to say goodbye to his wife at all but keeps his grief hidden for as much as is possible so as to not ballast Siah and Anakin. When he is in private there are times when his grief overcomes him but a few days ago he found a way to let go of his grief by focusing on the happy memories. Just when he thinks Anakin is starting to burst into tears again, a servant knocks on the door and enters the room.

"Your Majesties, the funeral ceremony is about to start" the servant says and waits for the family to join her so that she can lead them to the place where the ceremony will be held. Alright, the imperial family is more than capable to find it on their own but it has been requested that they will be lead there by a servant who will leave them once they before the doors leading to the funeral room. Standing before the door they wait for the time they are expected to enter. Five minutes later they are called inside. Anakin goes through the ceremony in a sort of daze. One hour later when it is over he can't remember what happened there. They leave towards their own quarters where they spend the remainder of the day together. This Anakin is happy about as it is really rare for his father to be able to spend a lot of time with them but it also reminds him of the loss of his mother. She would spend almost every evening with them.

* * *

Three days later Roan is making his way to the conference room to discuss Anakin's situation with the masters of the imperial knight order. They had uncovered multiple bounties on his head. This made it clear that the bounty hunter that had attacked his son wouldn't be the only doing so if they didn't take precautions soon. For that reason, he hasn't allowed Anakin to leave the palace without at least two knights accompanying him. Another annoying matter was that they couldn't find the contractor for those bounties. If they knew who this was then they could go after him and take the threat away. But as the situation is now Roan is certain that the only thing they can do is sending Anakin into hiding together with a guard. Who this guard will be they will also have to decide. Just then he arrives at the conference room where he can see the masters already there. As he enters they stand up at attention as is expected of them and sit down again once he himself is sitting.

"I'm sure you all know why I called this meeting" Roan says to signal the beginning of this meeting.

"Yes, your majesty. We need to discuss how we will ensure the prince's safety" Master Skywalker says and the other masters nod their agreement. Ever since he called this meeting she has been thinking about possible solutions for this problem. One of the solutions she has come up with is sending him to her nephew Kol. She knows that he would protect the prince to the best of his abilities. Still, she doesn't know if this is a permanent solution as a bounty hunter could find and kill him then still.

"I know of only one solution that is permanent until we can find the contractor. That is sending him into hiding under the care of one of you. If any of you have a solution in mind then I would like for you to bring them up now so that we can discuss it" Roan says and his reluctance about sending his son into hiding is clear to the masters in his voice and appearance. He doesn't like to send it to send his son from his side. No matter how skilled the guard that is assigned is.

"That would indeed be a permanent solution, your majesty. But that also brings up other problems. One of those would be that we need to find a place where we would be sure the prince will be safe for as long as is necessary and we also need to find a knight to act as his guard. Furthermore, we need to make sure that they have the supplies they need to settle where we send them until they have found a way to sustain themselves without jeopardizing the prince's safety" master Skywalker says. This eliminates the solution she came up with as it isn't the permanent solution her emperor is looking for.

"That is right, master Skywalker. We need to discuss those things. We will then begin with choosing the knight who will be my son's guard. I want it to be one of you as you all are among my best and you all have the experience necessary to fulfill this assignment" Roan says. The next thirty minutes they spend going over why one is qualified and why not. As the discussion progresses Roan starts to get frustrated and feels that the only way for it to stop is for him to just make the decision.

"I know each of you would like to get this assignment and that you are doing your best to find one who will be able to fulfill it as best as is possible. I'm aware that each of you has their own duties and that that makes making the choice so difficult. Thus, I will consider everything you all said and will be making the choice" Roan says. It is annoying that these masters are not able to make a good compromise but also understandable because of their own duties. As he looks around the table everyone is sitting at he can tell from their expression that they want to know who he will choose. After considering everything they said Roan knows that there is only one person who he can give this assignment. Having made his choice Roan says

"After considering everything that was being said, I will give this assignment to master Skywalker" Roan says and can see the shock on her face.

"Really, master? Thank you for giving me this assignment. I will not disappoint you" Shmi promises from the bottom of her heart. She is really happy with this assignment while also a bit sad at the same time. She is his second in command and by having this mission she will have to give it up. Still, she promises herself that she will do her mission to the best of her abilities.

Then they move onto the topic of the hiding place. Many locations are being brought up but also quickly abandoned as they don't eliminate the danger sufficiently in Roan's opinion or that of the masters present. For everyone, this is frustrating as they are unable to make a choice on the matter while really wanting to make a choice. Just then one of the masters brings up the portal they discovered a few years back. They all know which one the master means as it was quite the talk of the month once its use was discovered. A lot of scientists investigated the reasons for the portal's existence and who build it. It was discovered that it can be used to send people into the past after a few experiments were conducted with volunteers. They all know that this would be the best location to hide the prince until the danger is solved but it also brings up the situation of how to operate it. None of the masters can operate it and only a few scientist do possess the skills necessary to operate it. This would also be the ones who operated the portal during the experiments. This would mean that master Skywalker has to take one of the scientists with her so that they will be able to return from the past when the receive a message that it is safe again. That it is possible to send messages through the portal to the past was also discovered during one of the experiments.

Right now they are discussing which of the scientists is trusted enough to accompany master Skywalker and Anakin. It doesn't take very long for them to make a choice with which everyone is satisfied. It was also decided that Roan would inform Anakin about the decisions they made while Master Skywalker would inform the chosen scientist. She is also responsible for the supplies they take with them. Among them are supplies to build secret rooms from where they can be communicated with the people of this time and can be used for training. For that they will also be taking training gear and supplies for imperial knight armor with them.

* * *

 **I promise that in the next chapter, you'll see Anakin traveling through time.**


	7. Chapter 7

Roan is making his way to Anakin's room where he knows that Siah will also be. He will be informing both of them there about the decision that was made a few days ago during the council he had with the masters. He has waited this long to make sure that the preparations will be well underway. This all had to be done in secrecy so that those who want to see Anakin dead don't learn of it and can start new plans to kill him. Just yesterday he was informed by Shmi that she has finished making the inventory of supplies they need and that she is almost halfway through in obtaining the supplies. Some of them took more time to acquire as they could arise suspicion in people so she had to do some covered acts to acquire them. Some of them she admitted to him to have smuggled into the storage where she keeps the supplies she has acquired. It was a relieved report as it shows that the method to ensure his son's safety is almost finished. Also, she told him that she has made an appointment with the scientist who would be accompanying them for that afternoon. The scientist has been busy with other work and will need a few days to prepare himself for the journey, Shmi had said. He told her that he would be expecting a report on the meeting to be given by her orally. Almost everything that is related to hiding his son is given to him orally. The inventory is the only written document that exists for it and Shmi has it in a hidden pocket of her armor at all times or under her pillow. The same counts for the access key to the storage. This is done to ensure that none who doesn't need to know about it will learn of it and ensures the secrecy and safety of the mission. Just then he comes to his son's room and can hear both of his children talking to each other. He can hear that they are talking about the possible reasons for why their father wanted to meet with them in his room. Normally he would meet them in his office if he had to talk to them about something or he would wait until the evening to tell them in the family sitting room, they know. Roan knocks once on the door before opening it and stepping into the room.

"Father, good afternoon" Siah says to him as he enters.

"Good afternoon, Siah, Anakin" Roan answers while sitting down between Anakin and Siah on the bed. He takes a deep breath to prepare himself for what he will be explaining to them soon. He isn't looking forward to their reactions as he suspects that they will be upset to be separated. Since their mother's death, they made sure to stay together and developed a truly strong sibling bond. Still, to make sure that Anakin stays safe they will have to be separated. No matter how painful it will be for both of them.

"A few days ago I had a meeting with the masters of the imperial knights' order to discuss what we would be doing to ensure your safety, Anakin. You know that there are still people out there who want to harm you, don't you?" Roan asks while looking Anakin in the face. He gets a solemn nod from his son. That is actually no surprise for him as he had to be fully open with Anakin about the facts that people want to harm him as he had to increase his security. Normally he could go anywhere with one knight acting as a guard but now he has always two knights with him.

"Now to ensure that they won't be able to harm you we decided that you would be going to into hiding together with master Skywalker and a scientist. We decided that it would be best to hide you in the past as they can't reach or find you there. The scientist has to come with you so that when it is safe again you can return home" Roan explains and can see Anakin thinking about what he was just told. It takes a bit of time for the realization to draw on him but then he looks shocked to his father.

"But then I have to leave you and Siah, father. I don't want that. Is there nothing else that can be done, please?" Anakin begs. He doesn't want to leave his family so shortly after he lost his mother. He wants to stay with them and for that, he hopes that his father has another option open so that he doesn't have to leave.

"I'm sorry, Anakin, but that is not possible. We talked about every option available and no other option gave the security you need. I would also love nothing more than to have you here with Siah and me" Roan says and quickly takes Anakin in his arms as his son breaks down. He pulls him to his chest and stokes Anakin's hair trying to soothe him. Not long afterward Siah joins the family hug and they stay like that for some time.

"Can I talk to you and write messages, father?" Anakin asks hopefully after he managed to calm himself down. He feels that being able to keep in contact with his father will make the separation more bearable.

"Yes, you can send messages to me but only one time per month at most. There might be months where it is not possible to do so. Do you understand that?" Roan asks. He wants to make sure that Anakin understands that it will not always be possible to send regular messages and that he thus sometimes will have to be patient in making contact with his family.

"I think I understand father. It will not be possible to send the messages in the same time window every month. I have to be patient when I can't send a message and have to wait till it is possible to send them, right?" Anakin says after thinking about his father's words for a bit.

"That is right, Anakin. Siah, what are your thoughts about my revelation" Roan asks his daughter. She has stayed silent for the entire time he was talking to Anakin. That she stays silent makes him wonder what she feels about it. He can't tell what her feelings are as she is masking them as she has been thought to do in times when showing emotions are not considered useful.

"I'm sad that Anakin has to leave but can also understand that is it necessary to ensure my brother's safety. I will miss him and would have liked to be able to teach him some things once he is old enough. It is just so difficult to know that he has to leave when we have just lost our mother not long ago. It opens up some old wounds for me that were starting to heal" Siah answers truthfully. She explained her feelings as best as she could to her father. Her feelings about his revelations are confusing for her and she would have liked to have some time to think about them before having to talk about them. Still, if her father wants to know she knows that she will answer him as truthfully as possible.

"I understand what you are feeling, Siah, and I share your feelings" Roan tells his daughter and waits for her to answer him. When she has done so he asks her

"Would you like to help Anakin with packing the things which he will need?"

"Yes, father. I would like that. Are there things we have to take into consideration when packing?" Siah asks as she doesn't want to pack things which Anakin can't take with him. It would not be nice for him to think that he could take something with him only to hear later that he has to leave it behind. She knows from her own experiences that it is really frustrating and annoying to first think you can take something with you only to learn shortly before leaving that you can't take it with you.

"Yes, there are some things you have to take into consideration when you will be packing" Roan says and starts to explain to his children what Anakin can't take with him and the reasoning for it. Fifteen minutes later he leaves the room and goes back to work. At the same time, Anakin and Siah start the difficult task of packing the things he can and will take with him.

* * *

Two days later Roan is making his way to the port where he will be saying goodbye to his son in approximately one hour and his son will be going into hiding. As he is making his way there he thinks back to the discussion he had with Shmi the previous day about the final decisions that had to be made concerning his son's safety. These decisions were about the place they would be going to.

They discussed a few possible locations and as he didn't want his son anywhere near Hutt space or close to the core worlds it was decided that they would be going towards Dantooine. The reason as to why he doesn't want his son close to the core worlds is that he doesn't want Sidious, other Darksiders or the Jedi to discover his son for at least the next ten years. As Dantooine is a world in which few people are interested it is a good reason for hiding him there. By the time they can discover him Anakin will have already received enough training from Shmi so that he will be able to handle interacting with them without endangering himself unnecessarily. That brings to his mind the discussion they had about Anakin's education and training. It was, in the end, decided that he will go to a public school at Dantooine and he won't be homeschooled. Roan doesn't want his son to be unsociable if he is kept separated from younglings his age and by going to a public school that will be avoided.

About his Force training, there was little discussion necessary as they decided that he will be taught in the manner of imperial knights at home in guarded rooms. This was decided quickly as most of it was already discussed a few years ago so that preparations could be made, just as was done for Siah. Training in guarded rooms will be done to avoid unwanted attention should they be seen practicing by others. Some parts of his training will be held outside but for those, there are more than enough reason possible so as to not raise suspicion.

It is then that he arrives at the port where he can see that Shmi and the scientist, Rendel Kahn, are putting the last of the boxes they will be taking with them into the ship. They are doing this by themselves to limit the number of people knowing about it. This limits the security risks there could be.

"Your majesty, we are almost done with the preparations and will be able to leave in thirty minutes if that is to your liking" Rendel says to Roan once he sees him standing in the docking area the ship is in. Roan has kept to the side of the area so as to not bother them in their work.

"That is good to hear. What about the portal? Is it already prepared?" Roan asks. He wants to know if it is already prepared as it would not do for them to leave planetside only to be stuck in space for some time before the portal is prepared and they can go through it. This would open opportunities for people to learn that he is sending his son into hiding and also where Anakin will be hidden. Yes, he will give a statement about it later but only after he is sure that his son is safely in hiding.

"It is as prepared as can be, your majesty. There are some things that still need to be done but they can unfortunately only be done until shortly before the portal is activated" Rendel explains calmly. He made sure that all the preparations that are needed to be done were done personally by him. He has always been loyal to the imperial family and feels honored that he is part of his prince security. He knows that he will do everything he can to protect his prince. From what he was told by Master Skywalker he knows that he will have to act like a father to his prince and as a husband to her in when they are in public or have visitors. When they are alone he knows that he doesn't have to act like that and also has little say in matters concerning his prince's upbringing as that is in the hands of Master Skywalker or so she told him. This doesn't mean that he is unhappy with his new job if one can call it that. It is more like building a new life on a distant planet for him.

"That is good" Roan says and then sees Anakin and Siah walking into the port. Siah is carrying one of the heavier bags while Anakin is wearing a simple backpack on his back. It is then that he says to Rendel

"I will say goodbye to my son now and will let you and Shmi finish the preparations you have to make"

"Of course, your majesty" Rendel answers and goes back to putting everything they will be needing on the ship. He is aware that the content of come boxes does not correspondent with what is reported on the outside. It only states what is on the top while the lower parts are shielded by an image reflector so that no one will be able to tell what is really inside it. How Shmi managed to get her hands on an image reflector he doesn't want to know. Such technology is for as far as he knows illegal. There are things in the boxes for which he doesn't see any real purpose in taking with them but is confident that master Skywalker has had her reason for packing them.

Meanwhile, Roan makes his way to where Anakin is standing and hugs him tightly once he reaches him.

"Anakin, I want you to listen to what Master Skywalker asks you to do. Also, make sure that you give me regular updates about your life for as much as it is possible to do so. I will miss you, my dear son" Roan says emotionally. Luckily he is alone with his children so he doesn't have to worry about showing his emotions. He does feel really emotional at the thought of sending his son away into hiding.

"I will miss you too, daddy" Anakin says while tears are silently streaming down his face. He doesn't want to leave but he knows that he has to. He makes sure to hold his daddy's hand as well as that of Siah for as long as he can. This prolongs the actual separation from his family and gives him a bit of comfort. He had already said goodbye to Siah when their father was talking to the man who he believes will be accompanying them. He doesn't know who the man is but also fears that if he asks that the separation will become even more real than it already is for him. So he stays silent.

Five minutes later Anakin can see Master Skywalker coming out of the ship. As he doesn't see anything anymore inside the hanger that has to be put on the ship he believes that the packing of the ship is finished and that the real moment of saying goodbye is near at hand. He doesn't like it one bit but takes a deep breath to steel his nerves as much as is possible. Siah had recently taught him this for when he is nervous. He knows that he has to get through this moment to be safe from the threats that there are on his life.

"Your majesty, we are finished with packing the ship and can leave once prince Anakin has said goodbye to the princess and you" master Skywalker says and waits for the imperial family to say goodbye to each other. It is a sad occurrence for the family and they take about five minutes to say goodbye to each other. With pain in their hearts, they break apart and then Shmi guides Anakin to the waiting ship and they are soon on their way to the portal's location. It takes Rendel a few minutes to make the final preparations to the portal and then they are on their way to the past and the location that was chosen for hiding Anakin.


	8. Chapter 8

**36 BBY**

In a hidden corner of the Braxant sector, an inauspicious looking ship packed with plenty of supplies and three passengers appears. The ship came from eighty-eight years in the future and is currently floating through space in front of a portal that is unknown to the rest of the galaxy. They made the trip through the portal in five minutes in their counting while they, in fact, went back in time.

"Well, we are now in the Braxant sector in 36 BBY and we need to make our way to Dantooine as soon as possible. Anakin, why don't you go to the recreation room and watch some of the holo shows we have on board while I set the course we need to take" Shmi suggests and Anakin unhappily does as he is asked to do while Shmi turns her attention to the board computer to plot a course for them to follow to Dantooine. She decides to take the quickest route while at the same time avoiding the areas she was instructed by her emperor to stay away from. Five minutes later they enter the Braxant run and are on the way to Ord Trasi as she saw that they, unfortunately, have to refuel to be able to reach Dantooine and not become stranded. Luckily she managed to get her hands on enough republic currency to be able to refuel the ship while keeping enough for the future expenses that have to be made. She would have actually liked it had they not needed the refuel, but as it is impossible to reach their destination otherwise she has to accept it. Once she is done she makes her way to the recreation room to join her young charge. She knows that she has to spend quite some time teaching Anakin the things he needs to know to not stand out in this time and for him to able to get into schooling of this time.

As she enters the recreation room she sees Rendel reading one of the data cards he had packed among his personal possessions. She had checked Rendel's luggage when he was talking to their emperor to make sure that he wouldn't be taking anything with him that could raise suspicions. Luckily he didn't and she was actually quite pleased with how he packed somethings. He did that by packing it in such a way that it won't be recognized for what it is by those who don't know what it really is. Looking to see where Anakin is she sees him sitting on the couch watching a holo show. If her memory serves her right then he is watching his favorite show. She smiles and walks back to her quarter to pick up the things she needs to teach Anakin. When she gets back to the room she sees that Anakin is walking back to the couch with a glass of juice in his hand.

"Anakin, come join me at the table. I need to teach you some things before we arrive on Dantooine" Shmi calls to Anakin.

"Yes, master" Anakin says and places the glass on the table she pointed to. Then he walks back to the couch to shut down the holoprojector before sitting down on at the table on the chair opposite of Master Skywalker.

"Alright, Anakin. The first thing you need to remember is that you are to call me Shmi when we are in private and when we are in public you will have to call me mom to not raise suspicion" Shmi explains. After Anakin's nod, she starts with the first of the many lessons she has to teach him. The lessons end once it is time for supper and afterward she moves towards the cockpit to check the ship's functions. Anakin spends the time he has left before he has to go to bed on watching holo shows. She finds that everything is in order so she goes to one of the empty storage areas to train for a bit once Anakin is asleep. She wants to keep her strength up at all times as she doesn't know what kind of dangers to Anakin might show itself. Besides now she has the time to practice her lightsaber and Force skills and once they arrive on Dantooine she knows that it will be a few weeks before she can practice with her lightsaber again. Her Force skills she can practice in the house if she is careful to not be seen. She can't actually practice outside as that will surely attract attention should someone see her. That would result in the kind of attention they don't need.

* * *

A few days later they arrive at Ord Trasi, their stopover, and Shmi brings the ship out of hyperspace once the alarm goes off to do so. This is the place where they will be refueling so she checks the course they have to take to get to the surface. Not being able to see a course that she can take as she can hear that everything is being closely monitored by the planet's traffic control, she calls to them to request a vector to a refueling location. Once she gets it she sets the board computer to follow it and goes to find Anakin. She has a few hours time to tell him one thing she failed to tell him. A few minutes later she finds him in his quarter reading one of the datapads that were packed for him. Just as she wants to step into his room he looks up and says

"Hello, Shmi"

"Hello, Anakin. Can I join you for a moment?" Shmi asks. She is relieved to see how instinctively he already uses the Force.

"Of course, Shmi" Anakin answers

"I think you know that I didn't come here just to hang around, do you?" Shmi asks and after Anakin answers her with a nod she continues "We will soon be landing on Ord Trasi to refuel. I want you to remember to not leave the ship if you are not being escorted by Rendel or I. As I don't know how this place is in this time I don't want to take any chances with your safety. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Shmi, I understand. I won't leave the ship without Rendel or you" Anakin says disappointingly. He hopes this rule won't be in effect when they are on Dantooine. He would like to spend some time alone outside. If this rule is in effect there also then he won't have any time to spend on his own except for the room he will get there.

"What is on your mind, Anakin? You can ask me anything you want and I will answer your questions if I can" Shmi says. She knows that it will be some time before she can tell him everything as he is at this time too young to understand and know some things. He will simply have to do as she asks no matter how much he might dislike it until he is old enough.

"Will this rule also count when we are on Dantooine?" Anakin asks nervously. He actually doesn't want to know the answer as he fears what it will be. Still, he will have to tell Shmi what is on his mind as she asked about it. It is the correct thing to do.

"The first few weeks, yes. But after that, I will have checked the area out and you will be able to go outside into the areas I have deemed safe" Shmi answers calmly. This was something she didn't have to keep from him. Actually, she had planned to tell him about this once they arrived on Dantooine, but as it apparently is bothering Anakin it won't hurt to tell him right now. It will ease his mind she knows and can already feel the signs about it in his presence.

"Now then I will leave you as I have to go back to the cockpit to land ship so that we can refuel. We don't want to be stuck somewhere, do we?" Shmi asks.

"No of course not" Anakin says while laughing a bit and then asks

"Can I come with you? I will only look and won't touch anything"

"Of course, you may" Shmi says and then they make their way to the cockpit. Thirty minutes later they are on the ground and the refueling in on being done. Shmi is making her way to a nearby market to see if she can get some fresh supplies. She allows Anakin to accompany her as he had begged her to be allowed to come along and promised to stay close by her at all times. He wanted to see something of the planet and as she had felled two strong Force presences belonging to two jedi when arriving on the planet she makes sure to cloak both their presences in a way that will not arise the jedi's attention. She doesn't want them to be known to either the jedi or the sith for another ten years at least. At that time she will have trained Anakin sufficiently enough for him to be able to protect himself from the sith and to not arouse suspicion from the jedi either.

* * *

Three hours later they are back in space and about to enter the Veragi Trade route to get to Dantooine. Once they have entered the way, Anakin spends his time on games and watching shows while Shmi and Rendel discuss the final details they have not yet discussed. Among them is choosing a location that will suit their needs. Shmi was able to do some research on properties for sale on Dantooine and how buying properties goes on Dantooine. She learned that it normally takes quite a while before someone buys ground there. The reason for that is that the current farmers can't handle more land and few people want to live on the planet. That means that she feels confident that they will be able to buy the property they want.

Currently, they are making the list of requirements which they will be using to choose the property they will buy once they arrive at Dantooine.

"I do feel we need to have close access to a woodland area so that I can do some training alone and with the prince in that area without being seen by curious eyes" Shmi says.

"Well, that is something I have no problem with as I won't oppose you on how you intend to train our prince" Rendel says and then stays silent for a few moments.

"I have looked over the plans you have for building additional rooms beneath the property we buy and I feel that we need to buy a house in an area with solid ground and enough space beneath it to complete the intending construction" Rendel says and after Shmi has agreed they go over the properties that are available. It doesn't take them long afterward to have chosen two prospective properties. They agree to make the final decision after having visited the properties. This will ensure that they won't find any surprises as they can check the properties over.

The remainder of the flight everyone spends on their own tasks. Shmi goes over the construction plans for the property and she keeps up her skill by training as much as possible because of the other tasks. One of them is continuing to teach her charge the things he has to know and which she hasn't taught him yet. She had discovered that he has a bright mind and is quick to remember things when he is being taught. This is a promising sign for when he has to take on his duties when it is safe for him to return. Also, she has to keep an eye on the ship's functions and repair anything as it is needed.

Rendel spends his time reading up on the current situation. He has been tested for his loyalty to the imperial family before he was chosen to accompany Anakin. That was needed to ensure that he would not start working with Sidious whose real identity he has been told. Or with anyone else who might form a threat to Anakin now or in the future. Anakin himself spends his time learning from Shmi, watching holo-shows or reading holobooks they brought with them. The time flies by quickly.

* * *

A few days later, Shmi calls Anakin to the cockpit without telling him why. This makes him wonder why. Are they almost at their destination? Or is there something she wants to teach him about the ship? Anakin can't wait to learn why she called him so hurries to the cockpit. When he arrives there he can see an olive and blue colored planet from the cockpit.

"Is this Dantooine?" Anakin asks and hopes that it is. He wants to learn where he will be living for a long time as soon as possible.

"Yes, this is Dantooine. We will soon be landing in one of the bigger settlements and from there on we will be visiting the two properties that are appropriate for our needs before buying one of them" Shmi answers. When she sees the confused look on Anakin face, she waits for a bit as she knows well enough that he will soon be asking her what has him confused.

"What does appropriate mean?" Anakin asks. He can't recall what that word means but is sure that it was explained to him in the past.

"With appropriate, I meant what is suitable for us to live in and what we need in the surrounding area" Shmi answers and can see in Anakin's eyes that he now understands what she means. Mentioning to the seat next to her she turns her attention back to the ship. Anakin sits down in the chair next to her and wonders why he is here. Shmi hadn't told him yet. Has she forgotten to tell him? Should he remind her? In the end, he decides that the best thing to do is reminding her so asks

"Shmi, why am I here?"

"I thought it would be a good idea for you to be here so that you can see the landing and the planet we will be living on for quite some time from space" Shmi says without taking her eyes the ship's controls. For the next thirty minutes, Anakin watches how Shmi lands the ship. He knows that this is the sign that his new life in this time is about to begin.


	9. Chapter 9

As the ship touches down on the floor of the docking bay Anakin looks at what he can see through the window of the bay. In his opinion, the docking bay contains really old equipment which is surprisingly still shiny. It is then that he remembers that they have gone back in time. That means that what he considers old is in fact state of the art equipment here. This makes it all the more really confusing for him as he has to get used to considering the old equipment as new ones. That will take quite some time, Anakin thinks.

Looking back at Shmi he sees that she is going through the last of the steps to shut the ship down. Flushing embarrassed, Anakin remembers that she called him here to watch the landing. Now that he didn't pay attention to what she was doing before could possibly get him in trouble with her. To make up for his lack of attention Anakin thinks back to what he can remember from earlier. He remembers that the Dantooine's traffic control called them as they were approaching the planet's outer sphere. They asked them for their reason for coming here and what they would be needing.

 _"Unidentified ship, this is Dantooine traffic control. Please identify yourself and state your intention for coming here into our space." an unknown male voice comes across the cockpit's speakers._

 _Anakin jumps in his seat. He hadn't expected this and thus looks questionable to Shmi. She looks at him with a smile and this makes Anakin wonder if she had expected this. He hadn't but then this is his first time in a cockpit. The other times he has been on a ship was in his family's quarters or the recreation room. He knows thus that he doesn't know anything about flying a ship. A few seconds later Shmi turns and addresses Dantooine traffic control._

 _"Dantooine traffic control, Zenith here. We are a family of three on our way to migrate to Dantooine."_

 _"Zenith, we read you. Please welcome to our humble planet. How can we be of assistance?" traffic control asks a short while later._

 _Shmi knows that the controller would have discussed what he was told by her with his superior. That she gets this response tells her that traffic control won't make any problems for them to land and settle here. If she is being honest with herself then she had feared it a bit even though she knows that there was but a tiny change that it would have actually happened. The apprehension she had felt had been accepted by her and now that she has faced it she can finally let it go. Shmi thinks for a bit on how to state her request before saying._

 _"Zenith here. I would like a place in a docking bay to park my ship until it can be moved to our new home. I would appreciate it if the docking bay is close to a motel where we can stay for the time being."_

 _"Of course. Please follow vector 33 to docking bay 95. You can leave your ship there for at most a month. Just across the street, there is a motel which will most likely have a room for you and your family. Good luck. Dantooine traffic control out." Dantooine traffic control says._

 _After that Anakin can see how she follows the vector and once they are on it Shmi shows him where he can see the vector and goes over the routine necessary to set a vector in the board computer. Following the vector is a quiet affair._

"Anakin, are you with me?" Shmi asks him while placing a hand on his shoulder. This jerks Anakin from his memory and with a shy smile he says.

"Yes, Shmi. I was just thinking about our arrival here."

"That is alright to do. Just remember that whenever you do so to stay aware of your surroundings. Don't become so focused on your memories that you don't notice what is going on around you. That can be quite dangerous." Shmi explains and Anakin nods to her to show that he understands what she wants to tell him.

* * *

 **One week later**

Anakin sits in the speeder that they brought with them as Shmi drives him and Rendel to the house they bought. He thinks back on how the purchase of their new home was done. The first few days were spend on visiting the prospective properties and the one they bought was visited a second time. This time the took Anakin with them so that he could see where they would be living. Once the sale was complete they made preparations to finally move there. Shmi brought their ship to their new house a few hours ago before coming back to collect Rendel and Anakin. During the wait, Anakin discovered that Rendel has a small blaster on his person at all time when Shmi is not with them. When he asked about it Rendel told him that he brought it to be able to protect him as Shmi had told him to do. Not that Rendel expects a lot of trouble here on Dantooine. Definitely not the kind trouble that would require the use of a blaster.

It is then that Anakin looks around and sees that they are close to their new home. He recognizes the landscape which is wide and open around him. In the distance, he can see also see a forest. From his visit to the house, he knows that it is in an isolated location. The closest farms are a five-minute drive away and the town over an hours drive. Shmi and Rendel had told him that this was just what they were looking for. Anakin doesn't share their opinion. He would have liked it if there would be other children around who he can visit after a short walk and with whom he can play. Still, he is aware that his opinion doesn't count as Shmi has been tasked with his safety by his father. That means that she is the one to make the final decisions if there is no unanimity between everyone. Anakin thinks that they only have five more minutes of driving before them before reaching their destination. If he is right about their location that is.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Anakin is busy bringing his stuff into his new room after having cleaned the entire floor. Once he is done with this he knows that he has to clean the remainder of the room as well as make his bed. He is quite glad that they bought a furnitured house so that buying furniture is unnecessary. That is unless they want to have some furniture that is different from what was left behind or wasn't in the house. As Anakin is busy with this Shmi and Rendel are cleaning the other parts of the house. Once the cleaning is done everything can be unpacked and the manufacturing droids can be set to work under the house. They will be building the rooms that Shmi knows they will need in time and which no one is to know they have. All in all, it takes them about three hours to clean everything and another two to unpack the necessary things. The remainder will be unpacked later. Rendel and Anakin take on unpacking the boxes while Shmi turns to the basement. She brings the boxes with the building supplies down there as the rooms will later be accessible from the basement. To speed the process up she uses the Force to float the boxes down. Physically carrying the boxes down will take hours while it only takes about fifty minutes to float the boxes down. Shmi isn't afraid of using the Force as there is no one around who can see it.

Once everything is down in the basement Shmi starts to unpack the manufacturing droids and starts to put them together. They were shipped in parts to avoid arousing suspicion. All the parts of the droids can be used for different purposes. That is what makes it difficult to identify the parts as part of a manufacturing droid when they are separated. Thus they would not arouse suspicion when they are packed together while together they most likely would have. It doesn't take Shmi long to put them together as she studied the instructions she was given during their flight. These instructions gave detailed instructions on how to put the droids together. Twenty minutes later she is done and makes the final preparations needed before the droids can be activated. These include outlining the area from where the droids have to start constructing and uploading the construction plans onto their memories. Another twenty minutes pass and then she can finally activate the droids. Shmi stays for a few minutes to see to it that the droids are starting their work correctly. Once she is convinced about this Shmi leaves to the basement and goes to assist Anakin and Rendel with unpacking.

* * *

The next morning everyone gets up early as they have to prepare the land for farming. They also have to make the final decision about what they will be farming on their land. Everyone knows exactly what needs to be done in order to prepare the land as they surveyed it the previous afternoon when they were finished with unpacking. That means that everyone can get started without having to discuss who will be doing what once they are finished with their breakfast. That was also decided yesterday afternoon.

"Good morning." Anakin says as he comes down from his room fully prepared to start the day.

"Good morning, Anakin." Shmi says.

Anakin quickly takes his place at the table which is already set for all three of them. Looking around the table to see were Rendel is, Anakin sees him standing near the kitchen counter. From where he stands Anakin thinks that he is preparing something for their breakfast. They unfortunately still live from the rations they brought with them as no one has been able to go shopping. Anakin hopes that someone will soon be going to shop as he wants something else to eat than rations. He has had enough rations to last years. A short while later, Rendel puts a plate on the table which to Anakin's surprise contains cut meat. Just then he takes a closer look at what is on the table. Only then he notices that there is normal food on the table. Well, what he considers normal that is. It includes bread, cheese, and other spreads. Anakin has to wonder when someone had time to go shopping as they have all been quite busy the last few days and they didn't eat normal food before.

"Who did go shopping and when?" Anakin asks bewildered. He truly wants to know who went shopping as he can't remember someone being gone long enough to do that.

"I went shopping yesterday morning before taking the ship here. You didn't think it would take me so long to fly the ship here and drive back, did you?" Shmi asks amusedly. Based on Anakin's embarrassed look Shmi can tell that he either imagined it had taken her so long to take the ship here and drive back or he didn't think it fully through. In time she is sure that he will learn to think things through more thoroughly. Once everyone sits at the table they start on their breakfast. The first breakfast that doesn't consists entirely of rations.

Thirty minutes later everyone is busy preparing the land for farming. Anakin is tidying up the barns while Shmi and Rendel work the ground. They gave him this job as there are no dangerous tools around with which he could injure himself. They felt that this would be the safest thing he could do to help them get the farm up and running. While Shmi and Rendel are busy with the ground they also discuss what they will be going to farm. They decide that to ensure money throughout the entire year they need to grow crops in the summer and in the winter. For that, they will have to do research on which crops grow best in the summer and which in the winter and also which crops bring in the largest harvest and money. Alongside the crops, they are also discussing what animals they will be buying and holding. With the animals, they know they can make some money throughout the year.

They are deep in their discussion when they hear the sound of a speeder coming up on the farm. Shmi instantly holds the shovel she is using tighter and moves into a discrete defensive stance. She knows that her posture is tense and visible for those that know her. They didn't expect any visitors today so they don't know who is coming towards their farm. This makes her worry that they have been found by those who want to see Anakin death. Still, she hopes that whoever is coming is harmless. Shmi hopes that whoever is coming is from the neighboring farms. She would like to meet them to exchange information. Alright, she wouldn't know who would think about visiting new people except for the farmers that live here. The villages are so far removed that they wouldn't know that someone moved here. The farmers she believes would be able to learn of it as the farming communities are quite close here. It would be good to foster good relations with the farmers as they will be able to help them in dire situations. Not long after she and Rendel heard the speeder they see it slowing down near their garage. Looking at Rendel, she mentions for him to go see where Anakin is and to keep him away until she has surveyed the situation.

Meanwhile, she will go to meet whoever came and calmly walks to where the speeder has been parked. She feels a bit nervous inside but as she knows about it she accepts it as she has been taught. She knows better than to let her emotions rule her actions. As she nears the garage she can see a human standing there and the person is looking around. From his built, she believes that it is a man that has come to visit.

"Good morning, miss. My name is Festar Dome. I saw you moving in yesterday and decided to inform you about our farming community. I hope you will agree to join it." Festar Dome says while holding his hand out in greeting. Shmi shakes his hand while saying

"Good morning, mister Dome. My name is Shmi Skywalker and it's good to meet you. It would be nice to learn more about the farming community before we make a decision about joining it or not. Shall we go inside to talk about it?"

"That would be appreciated." Festar says.

Then Shmi guides Festar inside. She allows this for she didn't sense any deceit nor hostility in Festar's force presence. She checked his presence for she felt that he isn't Force sensitive and thus wouldn't have known that she would be checking his presence.

Once they are inside, Shmi offers him something to drink but doesn't offer any refreshments for they don't have any. This she tells him and Festar only smiles at her while telling her that it is fine and he would like to have some tea. They discuss the farming community once both persons sit at the kitchen table. It is during the discussion that she learns that the community keeps each other informed about important weather changes and treats among others. These treats usually involve animals coming close to farms and killing the livestock or damaging the crops. At the end of the discussion, she tells him that she would like some time to think about his offer but that she will let him know before the end of tomorrow. Festar agrees and gives her his com number so that she can call him once she has made her decision.

It is then that their talk changes to the crops that can be grown on Dantooine and in which season they grow best. It is a subject which surprises Festar as he can't imagine anyone going to farm here without having at least some rudimentary knowledge about which crops can be grown. Still, he tells her which crops are typically grown on Dantooine and which season is the best to grow them. They also talk about the livestock which can be held here.

In the end, their talk turns to their families. Festar tells about the schools in the area and how to enroll a child there. He knows this as his own children go to school in the area. It is an informative topic of which Shmi makes ample of use when she enrolls Anakin in school two days later.


	10. Chapter 10

Anakin hurries to get himself ready for the day as today he will have his first school day. He feels really excited about it as he has missed having school a lot during the time they traveled to Dantooine and the time it took to get everything ready. Also, he missed having friends to play with. Until today he only had the company of Shmi and Rendel, not that they are bad company. Their company is just different from the company of his age mates and that he missed a lot. Anakin hopes with his entire heart that he soon will be able to make some new friends. Luckily now he knows that the friends he makes won't do it to gain fame but because they want to be his friends. That is something which he always found annoying and the reason why he stayed away from those people. He has always been able to recognize them thanks to the lessons Siah taught him about it. She taught him how to recognize such people before he started with school. Thinking about his sister makes him sad for he misses her a lot. He wants to see her again but knows that he can't. It will just be too dangerous to go see her and would ruin everything a lot of people have done to ensure his safety. Also, he is sure that it would greatly anger his father. That is something he has always strived to avoid. To honor her, Anakin promises himself that he will keep up his skills in the lessons Siah taught him.

"Anakin, breakfast is ready. If you are not down soon you'll be late for your first school day." Shmi calls from downstairs.

Embarrassed that he got stuck in his thoughts for so long, Anakin quickly makes his way to the bathroom. There he hurries to brush his teeth and hair before running downstairs to the kitchen. As he comes down from the chair he sees Shmi coming his way.

"Ah, Anakin. I see that you are finished. Now hurry up and go to the kitchen to eat your breakfast. We will need to leave in about twenty minutes, so make sure you are fully ready by then." Shmi says and mentions for Anakin to move to the kitchen.

"Yes, Shmi." Anakin answers and hurries to do as he has been told to do.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Anakin sits in the speeder as Shmi takes off towards his new school. He can't wait to see the school for the first time but also has to think about the rules Shmi told him yesterday evening. He is to always have his com link active and in his pocket. It has a tracker inside it which will allow Shmi to see where he is and also has an emergency button for him to use in emergencies. This is all to ensure his safety as she can't stay with him all the time. It would actually be strange for a mother to be by her son's side at all times. That would surely raise suspicions towards them and as they need to avoid it, Shmi can't stay with him. This is the best solution she could come up with.

During the ride, Anakin spends his time remembering the backstory Shmi told him the day they landed on Dantooine. They are a family from Tatooine who has saved the money necessary for moving to Dantooine for years now. Once they had the money together they packed everything and moved here. If he is asked about his previous school experience he is to tell them that he has been homeschooled because there were no schools close by to the farm they owned on Tatooine. Another thing he has to remember is that he doesn't have any siblings. Anakin is aware that this will be difficult for him to remember as he doesn't know how life without a sibling would be. But then now he will learn how it is and he has to remember everything if he wants to stay safe.

It is then that he feels the speeder coming to a stop. When he looks out of the speeder he sees they have come upon his new school. He recognizes the building from the holo's Shmi showed him after she enrolled him. Another thing that tells him that this is a school is the children he can see and hear playing on the playground. Anakin steps out of the speeder at the same time as Shmi does.

"Remeber what I told you, Anakin." Shmi tells Anakin.

"Yes, mama. I will" Anakin answers. He finds it strange to call Shmi mama as she isn't his mother. But then they pretend to be a family so it would look strange for him to call her by her name. That would attract attention they don't want to attract.

It is then that they hug each other before Anakin steps unto the school grounds. He can't see many children which on the school ground but that doesn't surprise him at all. The farms are pretty far apart from each other so the schools are small and scattered. They only have students from the neighboring farm attending. Having larger schools here wouldn't be doable as the many students would have to travel for a long time before arriving at school. That is not practical, but small schools are.

Looking around the playground, Anakin tries to get an impression of the children. He can tell a lot from their behavior and the games they are playing. He takes his time looking at the children before he makes a decision about which group he will approach. Once he has made his decision he approaches the group he chooses as that is the group that speaks to him the most. That way his first day of school on Dantooine starts.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shmi is making her way back to the house and mentally goes over everything she has to do today. One of the things she has to do is redecorating the house to make it look like a family lives there. The family that she, Rendel and Anakin are supposed to be. The redecorating will further the impression that they are in fact a family. During their flight, she has been creating holos of them as a family. She made sure that all the holo's have the landscape of Tatooine in the background. This will confirm the story they will be telling the people here. She feels sure that no one will be checking their story. Also, she wants to place the accessories they brought with them in their place. The last thing she has to do is checking on the progress the construction droids are making.

Once she gets home, she sees Rendel awaiting her near the garage and she knows why. He will be taking the speeder to go buy the seeds they will be sowing soon. Also, he will be making inquiries about livestock that is for sale so that they can decide which livestock they will be buying. Shmi parks the speeder and calmly steps out of the speeder. Rendel is quick to get into the speeder and after a few short words between them, he is on his way to the market in the nearby village.

Shmi turns her attention back to the house. She decides to first check on the droids progress as it is hopefully the task with the shortest time needed to complete it. This will allow her to work on redecorating without having to watch the time. She walks to the basement and is pleasantly surprised by what she sees. The droids are on schedule. In fact, they are slightly ahead of it and will be done with the work in three days' time. Then she will have them start on the safe room. This room she knows she will need to have but hopefully never need to use.

Afterward, she turns back to the house and starts on redecorating the entire ground floor to give the impression that they are living as a family here.

* * *

 **Three days later**

Shmi is busy placing the ship in the hangar while Anakin is at school and Rendel working on sowing the ground. Not long ago, she shut the droids down so that they can reload themselves. She needs the ship in the hangar as it will avoid rust and also it will be easier. Outside the ship takes up a lot of space which they need for other reason. Besides, if the ship is not visible then few people will know that they have a ship.

A few minutes later the ship is standing inside the hangar. Shmi busies herself with placing the building supplies in the appropriate area so that the droids can quickly find it as they need it. She knows that she can't work slowly as she has to pick up Anakin from school. A few minutes before she has to leave she finishes placing the supplies where they need to be. Then she checks the droids to see if have reloaded themselves. Once she is satisfied that they have done so she activates them. Shmi then waits to see if they start their work correctly. When she is satisfied that they are starting correctly she moves upstairs and making her way to the speeder. She knows that the droids will be done with the safe room in three days' time. Then they can start on the other rooms she needs them to build before they can be shut down for a long time. She can only use them for maintenance at places where they can't be seen by strangers as they are too advanced for this time. That would certainly raise suspicion and bring them into the center of attention of everyone. They would wonder why they are living as farmers here if they can afford to buy such expensive droids. Expensive in their opinion, that is.

Once she reaches the speeder she steps inside and rides as fast as she safely can to the school so that her charge doesn't have to wait long for her to pick him up. Normally she would be at his school a few minutes before the class is out but today she is a bit late because of the work she had to do.

Shmi arrives just as Anakin is walking out of the school building. They quietly greet each other after he said goodbye to his new friends. Anakin then quickly gets in the speeder and soon they are making their way back home. During the ride, he tells her all about what they have done today. They need to go to buy supplies but will be dropping Anakin's backpack off first. Then the will be going to the village to buy the supplies they need. They do this for they need all the space there is available in the speeder to be able to get everything home. A backpack could limit what they could take with them.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Shmi and Anakin are walking in the village moving between shops. They have already bought some supplies which carry inside bags and are now moving to the food store. Along the way to the store, they come upon a salesman selling pets. Anakin's eye is immediately drawn to a Strill puppy even though he doesn't fully understand why. All he knows is that he is feeling a connection to the puppy. The puppy is also looking attentively at him. This doesn't give him a bad feeling. In fact, it gives him a really great feeling.

Shmi sees where Anakin's attention is and the look in the puppy's eye. This makes her smile affective at them. She knows that these domesticated creatures are extremely loyal and protective of the masters and their family. As such she knows that this puppy will be like that to Anakin once he is accepted as master. That is why she walks up to the salesman and asks some questions about the puppy. The answers she gets satisfy her. She knows that the salesman hasn't told her any lie. Had he done so she would have knows instantly. All this contributes to her decision to buy the puppy for Anakin. With the salesman, she makes the agreement to pick the puppy up once they are done shopping. It would be difficult to keep the puppy around while going into the shops.

After that, they go to the food store and buy the food they need for the coming two weeks. They do this for the trip to the village takes a long time so they want to avoid making it too often. This will save money and time which they will need to get the farm up and running. On the way back to the speeder they pick up the puppy. When everything is loaded into the speeder they head back home.

* * *

Author's note: I will be putting this story on hold for I need to redo my outline for the coming chapters. I don't know when or if I will be updating again.


End file.
